Maghaberry ready to open 'contingency' accommodation due to unprecedented demand

Maghaberry Prison stands ready to reopen previously shut blocks as "contingency accommodation" to house a predicted influx of new inmates.

Forecasting shows that it is likely the system as a whole in Northern Ireland will hit a post-Troubles high of 1,900 prisoners in the coming weeks.

The Prison Service is already catering for over 400 more prisoners than it has a budget for as it is.

In Maghaberry, the impact of rising costs, a rising population and a shrinking budget is manifesting itself already.

In the busy kitchen, food for extra prisoners is costing an additional £25,000 per week compared to this time last year.

Nobody was sharing a room in the facility in Spring 2022, but today, 460 men are doubling up, albeit they are cells which are capable of holding two people.

Maghaberry's Erne House was closed in 2020 after the new, state of the art Davis House opened, and the Governor of the prison never expected that anyone would set foot in it again unless it was flattened and repurposed.

Now, the facility which was criticised in a 2018 inspection, is ready to be used again in the event of an emergency that looks set to become a reality very soon.

There are no showers in the cells, there is no screen between the toilet and the bed, the corridors are dark and narrow, and the height of the doors means that the average man has to stoop to enter.

Governor David Savage said it is far from ideal, but that it is better than having inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor as has been reported in some other jurisdictions facing pressures.

However, he said it is a shame that all inmates cannot be housed in a facility like Davis, where each room has a screen around the toilet for dignity, and a screen to fulfil admin tasks so that prison staff do not have to do this on their behalf.

I asked if he felt that the public may not sympathise with some prisoners being moved away from a more modern space.

He said that coming to prison is the punishment itself, and that inside he is tasked with providing a decent, safe, secure and stable environment, as well as with rehabilitation.

He said the new house helps with that. Biometrics at doors allow for independence, so do screens in rooms for booking appointments and activities so that staff don't do this admin on behalf of the inmates.

The long, wide corridors are easier for staff to monitor, also easing staffing pressures.

I asked the Governor if he feels certain that safety can still be guaranteed in the prison despite the suspected tidal wave of new prisoners around the corner, given that tragedies have been recorded there in the past when there were less inmates.

"I am comfortable with my staff and I'm hugely grateful for the work that they do.

"I'm really satisfied that my staff can provide that that level of care that's needed to know we will focus more resources in certain areas at times and less resource in all areas when we need to be," he replied.

"But if an individual or a group of individuals present with a set of circumstances that caused me concern, then we have the management structures and those supporting prisoner at risk mechanisms that we will apply straight away to support those."

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