East Londonderry MLA George Robinson has called upon the Justice Minister to abandon proposed plans to close Magilligan prison within his Constituency. The DUP MLA today proposed an Assembly debate on the issue.

Speaking from Stormont Mr Robinson said: "The loss of Magilligan Prison would impact upon approximately 440 jobs and would remove £10million from the local economy.

"We must also be conscious that until 2014 approximately £16million of taxpayers money will have been spent upgrading Magilligan Prison. Particularly in light of this it cannot be a good use of public money then to spend a further £250 million building a new prison. At a time when the resources to fund schools and hospitals are stretched the public will question whether new facilities for prisoners should be prioritsed.

-- Advertisement --

"The Justice Minister also tells us that the cost of travel from greater Belfast to Magilligan is prohibitive for many families. It is probably a good thing that Mr Ford does not have responsibility for public transport if he believes it costs more to travel from Belfast to Magilligan than it does from Magilligan to Belfast.

"The Limavady area has already suffered badly with job losses during this recession, and this would be a potentially fatal hammer blow for the area. That is particularly devastating given the Bain Report advocated an increase of public sector jobs for the area, not stripping them away."

(CD)