asked the Minister for Justice if the recent deaths and other serious problems among prisoners in Mount joy Prison is a result of the serious overcrowding and inadequate facilities there; and if he will consider the recommendation of the Whitaker Commission to introduce one-third remission in all but the most serious categories of crime.
Written Answers. - Remission for Prisoners.
16.
While the pressure on accommodation at Mountjoy has obviously increased the pressure on available facilities I do not think it right to link that pressure to the recent deaths in the prison. In one case the prisoner died from a self-administered overdose of an illegal drug which he had illicitly obtained and in the other three cases the prisoners were accommodated in single cells, a situation generally regarded as desirable. In fact, in at least one case the prison authorities were criticised for removing the prisoner from a two-man cell to a single cell.
The Committee of Inquiry into the Penal System recommend an across-theboard increase in statutory remission from one-quarter to one-third, rather than as suggested by the Deputy. No decision has yet been taken on this recommendation.