Vacant military jail in County Kildare being considered to alleviate overcrowding in Irish prison system

A currently vacant military jail in The Curragh is being considered to accommodate prisoners.

It was reported by TheJournal.ie earlier that a Department of Justice spokesperson has confirmed that The Curragh facility was being examined by Minister Helen McEntee and her officials. 

In the late 1990s The Curragh Prison was taken over by the Irish Prison Service, and before that, it was formerly the Military Detention Unit, dating from 1869.

The site acted as a civilian prison until 2003.

Commenting on the announcement, Sinn Féin councillor Noel Connolly told the Leinster Leader: "We are faced with this decision due to chronic underfunding of the Prison Service over the last few decades.

"The government spent €30 million on a site at Thornton Hall in North County Dublin in 2004, specifically for a prison.

"This land has been lying idle since, and costs €30,000 a year for security and maintenance on the site.

"The site was recently valued at €6.5 million; this is just another example of wasteful spending by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael."

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He continued: "The Curragh is far from ideal for a prison: it is poorly served by public transport for visitors, and a prison in an area with such a small population with poor local infrastructure is not a good idea.

"We need to look at a fresh approach to justice... restorative justice is something that Sinn Féin has championed , and it can have a positive effect on reoffending rates.

"Prisons should concentrate on rehabilitation, and to combat inter-generational crime trends, we need to invest in the less well-off and neglected areas of our towns and villages.

"If we tackle the roots of crime,  we will see a reduction in crime."

"There is a need for counselling services to help prisoners avoid reoffending."

Sinn Féin Cllr Noel Connolly. File photograph.

Cllr Connolly also said that he has spoken to prison officers living in his community and said that they are 'genuinely worried that conditions in our prisoners will lead to an upsurge in violence.'

He further said: "I've also read the Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report, and it makes for sobering reading.

"Prisoners are sleeping on floors in some prisons, and while some of their crimes are inhuman, if we treat people with respect, give them back their dignity, educate them and give them a purpose, crime levels will fall."

"The endless cycle of crime, courts, prison, repeat needs to be addressed.... only then will society reap the benefits," Cllr Connolly concluded.

Fine Gael Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer also gave her views on the matter: "The prisons are at full capacity from recent reports so I suppose it is an obvious short term solution. 

"I would assume that whatever remedial works are needed to modernise the facility these will happen before it can reopen.

Cllr O'Dwyer added: "Staff consultation is also very important to keep them updated as Portlaoise and the Midlands prison are a good distance from The Curragh."