Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding the Thornton Hall prison project; the amount spent on the project to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46287/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin will have a design capacity of 1,400 with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200 offenders in a range of security settings. The revised plan for the new prison campus aims to protect the taxpayers' interests and provide good quality, regime focused accommodation and programmes to prepare offenders for re-integration back into society, on a scale that cannot currently be delivered at Mountjoy Prison.

The new prison campus at Thornton Hall, Kilsallaghan, County Dublin is proceeding on a phased basis with Phase One comprising essential preliminary works required for the prison development. These preliminary works include the dedicated access route, the perimeter wall and related services. The preparation of the tender documentation as well as the detailed scope of work for the phase one work is at an advanced stage. It is anticipated that the preliminary works tender documentation for the construction of the access road will be issued to the market in the first quarter of the New Year.

The development of the new prison campus at Thornton Hall is a complex project which is governed by Department of Finance and EU procurement guidelines. These guidelines set out a range of actions that must take place prior to inviting tenders for the project. The Irish Prison Service with the assistance of the National Development Finance Agency are in the process of finalising the various preparatory steps prior to inviting tenders for the construction of the prison. It is intended to issue the tender documentation for the construction of the prison next year. Construction and fitting out of the prison will take two to three years from the date of signature of a contract.

The National Development Finance Agency and the Irish Prison Service has commenced the procurement process for technical advisers for the new project. A contract notice to procure these services was published last month in accordance with EU and National procedures. I am advised that an appointment from this competition is expected in the second quarter of 2010. As I have indicated to the House before, the revised design of the new prison campus at Thornton Hall must protect the taxpayers' interest, be operationally efficient in its design and provide good quality regime focused accommodation for prisoners.

In relation to expenditure on the project a total of €41.9 million has been expended up to end November 2009. This sum includes €29.9 million on the purchase of the site at Thornton. It is frequently overlooked that the cost of the site was actually largely offset by the sale of surplus prison lands at Shanganagh, County Dublin. An additional 8.7 acres has been acquired at a cost of €1.3 million to provide a dedicated access route to the prison. This was done following representations from the local community which reflected concern in relation to the effect of increased traffic in the area generated by the prison development. Approximately €7 million has been expended on professional fees, €2.8 million on site preparation and surveys, €0.5 million on security services and €0.4 million on landscaping works.

As is the case with all major infrastructure projects a comprehensive set of geological, engineering and archaeological surveys have been undertaken at the site and these surveys together with the completion of the phase one works will help to reduce the overall construction programme for the prison once a contract for the construction is awarded.