St Pat’s closure is welcomed

THE decision last week to close St Patrick’s Institution on the North Circular Road received a warm welcome on the Northside.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said the prison would be closed and all prisoners and staff moved to different institutions within six months.

It follows a report from the Inspector of Prisons that recommended that the “name St Patrick’s should be consigned to history

?.

The report stated that the prison should be closed, and that prisoners and existing staff be dispersed to other institutions where they could be guaranteed safe and secure custody.

Minister Shatter said all 17-year-olds currently serving a sentence in St Patrick’s Institution would be transferred to a dedicated unit in Wheatfield Prison.

The 18-to 20-year-old population will also be transferred to Wheatfield.

The Peter McVerry Trust, which works with homeless youths, welcomed the announcement by Minister Shatter.

“We welcome the closure of St Patrick’s Institution, a move that the Peter McVerry Trust has long advocated for,

? said Pat Doyle CEO.

“We do, however, have concerns regarding the decision to detain young offenders at Wheatfield Prison but note the commitment given by the Minister for Justice and the Director of the Irish Prison Service Michael Donnellan that this will be a temporary measure.

?

Mr Doyle said the charity was now calling on the Government to dedicate all necessary resources to ensure that the purpose built facility at the Oberstown campus opened at the earliest opportunity.

“We cannot allow a situation to arise whereby youths become detained for a long periods of time in facilities that were designed for short term use,

? he added.

Maria Corbett, the acting chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, congratulated the Government on its decision to close St Patrick’s.

“The continued detention of children and young people in St Patrick’s has been a major blot on the Government’s human rights record,

? she said.

“A commitment to close the facility is a most welcome announcement for which we commend the Government.

?

Ms Corbett also made the point that the development of a new child detention facility at the Oberstown campus must be progressed as a matter of urgency.

“Conditions in St Patrick’s have been of long concern to the Alliance,

? she added.

“We first highlighted our serious concerns back in 1998 and 2006 to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and in 2002, with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

“We have reiterated our concerns for more than a decade with successive Government ministers.

?

The Labour TD, Aodhán � Ríordáin, also welcomed the closure, stating that it had been inevitable for some time.

“The facilities in St Pat’s were totally unsuitable with the Inspector for Prisons finding repeated violations of standards in best practice of care,

? he said.

“There was a particularly high risk to the emotional and physical wellbeing to those in the institution under the age of 18.

“I have long advocated that the housing of children in adult prisons is wholly inappropriate and I raised this issue on the floor of the Dáil in the past.

?