Privatisation of prison services and the closure of some jails will be considered if prison officers fail to agree to a substantial cut in overtime payments, the Department of Justice confirmed yesterday.
Union-management talks on the issue are continuing but have reached "injury time", according to the director general of the Prison Service, Mr Seán Aylward.
He denied, however, that he had issued "a threat" of closures or privatisation in talks with the Prison Officers' Association earlier this week.
Instead, in answer to questions by the POA, he had said contingency plans would have to be considered in the event of a failure to reach agreement.
These could include closure of some prisons and privatisation of services, such as transportation of prisoners. Handing over the running of prisons to the private sector, under State direction, was also something that "might make sense", Mr Aylward said.
While he was not speaking for the Minister for Justice, his comments reflected those of Mr McDowell who had made his position "crystal clear" at the POA annual conference in April.
This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Department, who said options such as closures and privatisation would only be considered in the event of failure to reach agreement.
It was necessary, however, to have a contingency plan in place, which included the options outlined by Mr Aylward.
Mr McDowell issued an ultimatum at the POA conference that unless agreement on curtailing overtime was reached within 90 days, he would act unilaterally. The overtime bill for prison officers is set to reach €64 million this year, about a third of the overall wage bill.
Management is proposing to cut the number of overtime hours worked from 2.1 million to one million hours a year, through the introduction of an annualised hours package and new work systems.
The proposal would see prison officers paid flat-rate amounts for working up to 330 overtime hours a year, regardless of how many extra hours they actually worked.
The Prison Service believes this can be achieved through a range of new work practices, including increased use of technology to allow automated use of gates.
Mr Aylward said there was a "gap of some magnitude" between the sides and the timeframe to reach an agreement was "very tight". He rejected a claim by the president of the POA, Mr Gabriel Keaveney, that he was engaging in "bully boy tactics", and said he had merely answered direct questions which the association had asked.
Mr Keaveney said prison officers were being "conscripted, compelled and made work overtime". The POA was in talks about a more cost-effective scheme, but threatening to privatise prisons was not helpful.
Mr Aylward said no specific prisons had been mentioned in the context of possible closures. However, smaller jails in remote locations were more "vulnerable".
Discussions between the two sides are to continue next week. The POA has engaged the former trade union leader, Mr Billy Attley, as an adviser, while a former Department of Finance official, Mr Joe McGovern, is assisting the Prison Service in the talks.