Press Release: Urgent Review of Women's Prison Necessary on Resignation of Governor

URGENT REVIEW OF WOMEN'S PRISON NECESSARY ON RESIGNATION OF GOVERNOR - BACIK

Senator Ivana Bacik

Labour Party Seanad Spokesperson on Justice, Equality and Law Reform

26th April 2010

Senator Ivana Bacik today expressed grave concern at the resignation of the Governor of the Dochas Centre, Kathleen McMahon, and called for an urgent review of the use of prison for women in Ireland. Noting that Ms McMahon had been strongly critical of the Prison Service in her resignation letter, Senator Bacik said:

“Kathleen McMahon has highlighted the huge problems that chronic overcrowding has caused in the Dochas Centre. She has pointed out that large numbers of women prisoners are so low risk they should never have been jailed in the first place. The Minister for Justice, and the Prison Service, now have serious questions to answer about the issues raised by the Dochas Centre Governor as to how our prisons are run”

Calling for an urgent review of women's imprisonment in Ireland, Senator Bacik said:

“The Dochas Centre was originally a flagship prison, with a commitment to rehabilitation and a model for best practice. But the reasons given by Kathleen McMahon for her resignation are of grave concern. In particular, chronic overcrowding and the absence of any commitment to rehabilitation at the top levels in the Prison Service have caused conditions at the prison to deteriorate. It is very troubling to read of plans to allow doubling up in cells designed for single occupancy. We need an urgent review of the use of women's imprisonment following the Governor's resignation.”

ENDS