Magilligan is a medium- to low-security facility near Limavady which holds more than 450 male prisoners with six years or less to serve and who meet the relevant security classification.

The redevelopment of the prison, aimed at increasing capacity and improving facilities, was announced in 2013 and was originally set to be completed by 2020, but has been delayed several times due to funding problems.

Mrs Long said: “As with all parts of the public sector, the pandemic has had an impact on the Prison Service’s Capital Estates Programme, including the redevelopment of Magilligan, due to new health and safety measures, restrictive working practices and constrained working arrangements.

“However despite these factors, progress on redeveloping the Magilligan site has been made, with the majority of the work to upgrade the incoming power supply to be completed by this summer, costing in the region of £4.3 million.

“In addition to that, the redevelopment of Magilligan Prison Outline Business Case 1 (OBC1) will be submitted to Financial Services Division no later than spring 2021. This is a hugely important milestone for the future of the prison.”

Photo credit: RMcDonald, CC BY-SA 2.0