MPs on Tuesday narrowly voted to maintain a plan allowing some categories of prisoner to be released two weeks early, due to a shortage of cell space.

Junior justice minister Ingrid Coenradie, who represents the far-right PVV, described the measure as “rotten” but said she had no choice given the overcrowding in prisons.

A total of 74 MPs voted in favour of halting the plan — including members of the PVV, BBB and right-wing liberal VVD — while 75 voted against, allowing the scheme to go ahead.

Coenradie’s proposal has been he subject of heated debate, with PVV leader Geert Wilders at one point threatening to withdraw support for her. However, he later toned down his comments. “We are not going to send her home,” Wilders said. “She does a good job but on this point we disagree.”

The PVV has called for more multiple-occupancy cells to address the shortage, while the VVD has urged the introduction of prison ships.

The minister is also planning to build two emergency prisons with basic facilities and has said she needs “hundreds of millions” of euros to address the lack of cells and personnel after 26 jails were closed and hundreds of prison officers quit their jobs in the last 10 years. The prison occupancy rate is currently 99.5%.