Implementation ofAugust 12 accordblamed on prisoners
THE failure to fully implement an agreement that ended a costly protest in Maghaberry three years ago has been blamed on the refusal of republican prisoners to associate together or share facilities.
Local community worker Conal McFeely was part of a Joint Facilitation Group that brokered the end of the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and INLA protest on August 12, 2010. Nearly three years on the Minister claims: “The continued refusal of separated republican prisoners in Roe House to associate together or share facilities has made further movement on this issue difficult at this time. However, the Prison Service is committed to developing a more normalised regime for separated prisoners. The recent decision by the Governor to remove the Dedicated Search Team (DST) staff from the landings underlines this commitment. In addition a major programme of refurbishment is currently underway on the separated republican landings.”