§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
When the new prison at Maghaberry, Northern Ireland, will be ready for use; and why the forecast opening date of early 1984 has had to be postponed.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Lyell)It is estimated that HM Prison, Maghaberry, will be ready for use at the end of 1985. It has not been possible to meet previous forecasts because of the need to complete certain modifications mainly of a security nature. The need for these modifications arose because of recent changes at HM Prison, Falkland, in Durham, on which the design of Maghaberry male prison was based; because of advice from our security advisers; and because of the application to Maghaberry of certain recommendations contained in the Report of an Inquiry into the Security Arrangements at HM Prison, Maze, following the escape there in September 1983.