'Significant Amount Of Work Still Outstanding' At Maghaberry Prison

An inspection of Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn has revealed it has 'stabilised' after a previous report found the facility had become unsafe for prisoners and staff.

The second inspection, which was carried out in January this year, found some progress had been made, however a significant amount of work still remains outstanding.

The inspection was carried out by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales (HMIP), the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).

Mr Brendan McGuigan, the Chief Inspector of CJI Northern Ireland, said: "The depth of our concerns were such we took the unprecedented step of announcing the inspection team would return to the prison in January. Following the completion of this work, our collective assessment was the prison had stabilised.

"While some progress had been made in addressing our concerns and the nine recommendations made in the November 2015 report, this progress was fragile. In my view, a significant amount of work remains outstanding to make Maghaberry safer for prisoners and staff and for this to reflect more positively in the outcomes for prisoners and their experience," continued the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice.

"Urgent action had been taken to strengthen leadership within the prison with a new governor and transformed senior management team in place who were focused on stabilising the prison. A review of the Erne House fire has also been recently completed and lessons were being learned.

"A start has also been made in tackling the challenges around safety and Inspectors found some staff supervision had commenced in association rooms and exercise yards within Maghaberry. This should be extended to embed the more dynamic, modern approach to security which is required of a 21st Century prison establishment.

The inspection report noted that while restrictions to the daily regime within the prison were still significant, they had reduced from previous levels.

Sinn Féin MLA Raymond McCartney also called on the management to implement more changes to ensure standards are raised.

He said: "The failure by the management at Maghaberry prison to follow the recommendations of former Inspector of Prison, Anne Owers report lead to a damning inspection last year.

"While I welcome the news that the situation has stabilised it is important that we build upon this and improve conditions for prisoners and staff alike.

"The change of management at the prison is an opportunity to fully implement all recommendations otherwise conditions in the jail will be severely undermined and continue to fall below the standard needed."

Alliance Justice spokesperson Stewart Dicksonsaid: "The report states there are a number of challenges in Maghaberry but it is clear the Justice Minister is highly focused on meeting them to ensure the safety of both staff and prisoners there. While work remains to be done to meet those challenges fully, I am confident the Minister will be able to do just that.

"However, several issues remain around health matters and I would encourage the South Eastern Trust to work closely with staff at Maghaberry to address them."

(CD/MH)