Ms Pauline McCabe:

Ultimately, I believe cellular confinement is extremely undesirable. A great many complaints I received at the time of the first republican prisoner protest in April 2010 related to the extent of lockdowns. We were involved in work for an extensive period that predated all the recent protests. Significant regime changes resulted from our recommendations. Prior to the commencement of the additional protests, there had been some very substantial changes to the regime. Any time I make a recommendation in Roe House, I always extend it to Bush House. I talk to the prisoners in the latter so they will understand why we are making the recommendations.

Cellular confinement is undesirable. However, the complaints I have received on this over the years demonstrate it is necessary to examine individual circumstances. Issues arise such as personal protection for individuals. Some prisoners, for various reasons, actually want to be on their own and are very resistant to our best efforts to remove them from cellular confinement. In each case, I must examine the evidence, interview all the people concerned and try to determine what constructive recommendations we can make in order to make progress. I have made absolutely clear today that locking up people for long periods does no good whatsoever.