Mountjoy Prison in Dublin is opening a “centre for older persons” to cater for the needs of an ageing prison population who often present with complex medical conditions. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is constructing the unit, for inmates who are older than 55 years old, within a former training unit on the prison grounds, which has been vacant since mid-2017. The training unit in Mountjoy Prison was closed temporarily and vacated by prisoners in May 2017. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has welcomed the IPS recognising the specific needs of older prisoners, but lamented the loss of the training unit. “We regret the closing of the training unit as the only urban, semi-open prison in Ireland,” said Fíona Ní Chinnéide, executive director of IPRT.

Source: The Irish Times February 03, 2020 02:26 UTC