Fewer prisons will close as minister rethinks shake-up

Junior justice minister Fred Teeven has revised his controversial plans to close 26 prisons – reprieving seven from the closure list.

Teeven’s plans to close prisons and replace some jail terms with electronic tagging have been widely condemned by legal experts, unions and the prison service.

The revised closure plan will involve the loss of 2,000 rather than 3,400 jobs, Teeven said in a briefing to parliament. The orginal closure scheme was planned to save €340m. The new plan will result in savings of €271m, Teeven said.

The missing savings will be made up for by not paying compensation for higher wages and prices to the various justice ministry units. Instead, prisons, the police and youth services will have to find the extra cash themselves.

Two weeks ago, Teeven pledged to rethink his plans to bring in widespread electronic tagging. This means fewer prisons can now be closed, Teeven said. Electronic tagging will still be used for prisoners in the last year of their sentence.

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