New role of prison campus governors

A NEW layer of management is to be put in the Irish Prison Service, and three “campus governors” have been appointed, said Minister…

A NEW layer of management is to be put in the Irish Prison Service, and three “campus governors” have been appointed, said Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.

They will be responsible for the running of prison campuses on which there is more than one jail.

A spokesman for Mr Shatter said the prisons within each of the three campuses would continue to have their own governors.

The additional layer of management has been created to help improve co-ordination in the running of campuses with a number of facilities.

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Ned Whelan, who had been managing Mountjoy Prison in Dublin since governor John Lonergan retired, has been made governor of the Mountjoy campus.

It contains four prisons including the men’s Mountjoy Prison, Training Unit, the Dóchas Centre for female offenders and St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders.

Mr Whelan’s appointment was made on March 1st but was not officially announced then.

Colm Barclay, who has recently been governor at both Midlands and Portlaoise prisons, has been appointed governor of the West Dublin Campus. It comprises Cloverhill and Wheatfield prisons.

Mr Barclay will assume his new role on July 30th.

Martin Mullen, who has been at governor grade assigned to human resources at the Irish Prison Service headquarters in Longford since 2009, has been appointed campus governor at Portlaoise.

That campus contains two prisons – Portlaoise Prison and the Midlands Prison.

He will also assume his role on July 30th.

Announcing the new campus management system yesterday, Mr Shatter said that the move would help develop shared services between prisons on the same sites.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times