[caption id="attachment_67597" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Minister David Ford"]
Northern Ireland's justice minister has said that the refurbishment of Marian Price's prison cell was proportionate and "in no sense luxury."
Price, 57, has been charged with providing property, namely a mobile phone, for the purposes of terrorism. The charge is linked to the murders of two British soldiers in Antrim in March 2009.
It has emerged that over £2,250 has been spent refurbishing Price's cell. The cost included a flat screen TV/DVD combination in the cell.
Justice Minister David Ford was answering a question from the DUP's Paul Givan.
In a written answer Ford said: "Given the unique circumstances of the custody of Mrs. McGlinchey (née Price) the governor (as part of his duty of care) was content that the refurbishment was necessary and proportionate and the furnishings were in no sense "luxury."
"The expenditure was necessary to provide accommodation and a regime comparable to that available for female prisoners in Ash House at Hydebank Wood."
Ford said the expenditure was authorized by the governor of Maghaberry prison and supported by the director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ford has welcomed an independent review of the prison service calling it a "watershed."
Up to 500 prison officers are expected to lose their jobs in the radical shake-up.
The review has also made 40 recommendations on how the Northern Ireland Prison Service can operate more efficiently.
"This report both reinforces the need for fundamental reform of the Northern Ireland Prison Service and clearly sets out the size of the challenge ahead, not just for my department but for the assembly," said Ford.
"Any thorough and robust review of our prison system was inevitably going to make for uncomfortable reading as many others have in recent years. This report is no exception.
"End to end reform of the prison service cannot be achieved overnight and it has taken time to put in place the solid foundations on which to move forward.
"It is therefore vital that we get the process right to ensure change is not only delivered but is embedded across every aspect of the Northern Ireland Prison Service," Ford said.
