Junior justice minister Fred Teeven’s plans to cut €340m from the prison department budget are unrealistic, according to a confidential report on the plans by senior civil servants.

The report, in the hands of the AD newspaper, state that the plan to slash €92m from the budget through replacing prison with electronic tagging, will not be realised. In some cases, it many even cost more, the report says.

Teeven’s plan has already been criticised by unions, local authorities and the influential Council for the Judiciary. It says the minister is encroaching on the role of judges who are charged with determining sentences.

‘If judges send someone to jail, they mean jail,’ a spokesman said last month.

Earlier stories
Justice minister plans prison closures, more tagging
Judges oppose minister’s plan to boost electronic tagging
Prison spending cut will hit public safety say legal experts
Prison staff slam cuts as bad for public safety