Bermuda's prison service carried out last year to be made public.

The Opposition MP asked for the Gibbard review to be tabled in the House of Assembly and said Government should ensure that any recommendations made are carried through at the earliest opportunity.

His call came after Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox announced two weeks ago that she wanted a Commission of Inquiry into the state of the Island's overcrowded prisons.

But Mr. Dunkley said that while he was eager to see the prison service vastly improved, he was concerned that an inquiry would take far too long to set up and complete.

And the MP said he was concerned that reviews were being carried out and not acted upon.

He said: "Gibbard, a UK prisons inspector, came to the Island in July of last year and carried out a full report which was presented to the authorities.

"This report has not seen the light of day.

"We need something doing now into the state of the service. These problems will continue on for another year down the road and they will only manifest themselves into greater problems.

"The commission of inquiry will take a long time. I want to know what the terms of reference will be and whether they will be followed through.

"I feel we have just had enough reports and what is required of the minister now is an assurance that they will be acted upon.'' Mr. Dunkley added: "I want this report tabled. It's good having reviews, but if we just keep wasting the tax payers' money and time year after year, what is the point?'' Ms Cox was not available for comment, but she has recently voiced concern over serious problems within the service and said she was eager to see them solved as quickly as possible.

The issue of overcrowding and understaffing at the Island's three prisons, Westgate, the Co-ed facility and the Prison Farm, came to a head at the end of last month when staff took industrial action.

They claimed members of staff were tired of working 18 to 20-hour shifts and one-man cells were being forced to accommodate two inmates, with some prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

Prison officers refused to transport inmates to court for hearings, stopped accompanying them on medical appointments, and withdrew their services from all educational and religious programmes as part of the industrial action.

After negotiations staff returned to work, but a long-term solution has yet to be found.

Michael Tuzo, Chairman of the Prison Officers Association, said a number of reviews on the service had been carried out over the years -- many commissioned by the United Bermuda Party -- but recommendations had never been carried out.

But he said the association was behind a commission of inquiry being held.

He said: "I find Mr. Dunkley's comments strange and hypocritical because we had at least three reviews under the former Government and none of them were made public or implemented.

"One of the agreements we reached at the end of the dispute last month was that a Commission of Inquiry be held. That might help our problems.

"We need more staff and more space - that is the bottom line.'' Michael Dunkley