Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed)

9:00 am

Ms Ethel Gavin:

The violently disruptive prisoner unit is being developed. We hope to have it open in September or October. We are refurbishing a particular area of the prison that we have decided is the most appropriate.

This will be the first therapeutic unit dealing with violently disruptive prisoners. It will be led by an operational governor and psychology personnel. This is the first time psychology will be leading equally with us on the project. We are confident this will assist with the small group of people who heretofore have not been managed as well as we would have liked.