Plans for a new prison on the outskirts of Dublin to replace Mountjoy jail are motivated by money and not the welfare of prisoners, it was claimed today.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) said the move was both worrying and ridiculous and was being considered purely for financial gain.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said Government claims that the move would safeguard prisoners' human rights was nothing more than a spin tactic.
An expert group made up of representatives from the Irish Prison Service, the Office of Public Works and Government officials have shortlisted six 100-acre sites near Dublin for the new prison.
POA spokesman Mr Nigel Mallen said the Government should look at modernising the ageing jail instead of moving out of the city.
"We must be mindful between 70 million and 100 million euro has been spent on the Mountjoy complex in recent years. For the current plans to go ahead unchanged this can only be seen as a complete waste of a huge amount of taxpayers' money," he added.
He said that the POA had not been consulted over the possible move.
Mr Rick Lines, IPRT executive director, claimed the reasons given for replacing the 150-year-old prison with a modern facility were ill-conceived.
He said the Government was using the issue of human rights as the basis for the move and called on the Government to look at ways of reducing the prison population instead of creating 1,000 extra spaces.
He added that the new facility would make Ireland the fourth largest incarcerator per capita in western Europe even though crime rates are among the lowest.
The Mountjoy site is believed to be worth around 30 million euro and the cost of a new jail would easily be met by selling the prison.
Justice Minister Mr Michael McDowell has said the ageing prison fell so far short of modern standards that replacement was the only option.
A spokesman for the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention said the major problem with Mountjoy was the absence of in-cell sanitation and the continuing practice of slopping out.
The spokesman said: "The cost of refurbishment and upgrading would be colossal, selecting a new site would be far cheaper and far more beneficial to the tax payer".
A Government spokeswoman said Mr McDowell was awaiting a report from the expert group on proposals for the new site before plans for the move would put before Cabinet.
PA