Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 3 November 2016
Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement
Maghaberry Prison: Discussion
2:00 pm
Mr. John Finucane:
The Steele report dealt with segregation. It has not returned to the 1980s and 1990s regime. It is a safety aspect. To exaggerate to make the point, diehard republicans and diehard loyalists will never be allowed to come into contact for the sake of integration. There is a degree of mischief making by people who are pushing integration. While integration is not something that should be laughed at, the practical reality will never be lost. There would be a quick challenge to anybody who tried to put two people together or two groups together who would naturally come into conflict. I do not see the integration that has been described in recent weeks ever coming to the fore, but this does not necessarily mean we have to have a security based system that has a prison within a prison.
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