Prison service to shut bakery costing €660,000 a year run by Mountjoy inmates
Darragh Mc Donagh
A bakery run by inmates at Mountjoy Prison at a cost of €660,000 a year is being shut down in a bid to slash costs and enhance security, the Minister for Justice has confirmed.
The bakery, which has been used as a model for prisons in other jurisdictions, produces hundreds of loaves of bread each day, which are supplied to the five places of detention located in Dublin.
The annual cost of operating the facility is around €660,000, which includes staffing and ingredients for bread and other baked goods. The cost of sourcing bread from external suppliers has been estimated at €550,000, representing a saving of €110,000 per year.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has confirmed that the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has decided to phase out the bakery at Mountjoy Prison, replacing it with a training facility for aspiring bakers.
The Mountjoy bakery was the inspiration for a similar project at Hydebank Wood prison for women and young offenders in Belfast, which was designed to produce around 2,000 loaves per week for detention facilities in the region.
The replacement training facility at Mountjoy will provide certified education in baking skills to inmates, who will be able to attain a Level 6 Special Purpose Award in the discipline.
“In addition to enhancing security, this change will reduce costs,” said Mr O’Callaghan. “Based on the current number of people in custody, the cost of providing bread to Dublin prisons is approximately €550,000 per annum.
“The present cost, based on ingredients and staffing, is approximately €660,000 per annum,” he said in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy.
“The IPS provides a range of purposeful activity and valuable skills to assist people on their journey to rehabilitation and employment on release.
“A wide range of training workshops operate within the prison estate, for example printing, hairdressing, braille, woodwork, metalwork, construction, industrial cleaning, crafts, catering, waste management, laundry and horticulture,” Mr O’Callaghan said.
“There are over 120 workshops and service activities across the prison estate with a current capacity, including gyms, of 1,784.”
The IPS has recently expanded the number of accredited courses available to inmates through work and training, establishing partnerships with accrediting bodies such as City and Guilds, the Technological University of the Shannon (TES), and the National Construction Training Campus in Offaly.
