§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the new prison near Moira, Northern Ireland, will be ready to receive prisoners; what its capacity will be; and what effect they expect its opening to have upon the Northern Irish prison system as a whole.
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (The Earl of Gowrie)The two new prisons at Maghaberry, one for men and one for women, are now expected to be ready to receive prisoners late this year or early in 1984. The men's prison will provide accommodation in single cells for about 450 prisoners and the women's for 56 in single cells.
The men's prison will be used to deal with the overcrowding which still exists in other parts of the Northern Ireland prison system. The opening of the women's prison will enable the existing women's prison at Armagh, the main part of which was built in 1780, to be closed.