Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners incarcerated in the various prisons here; the number of prisoners to a cell; the number of cells accommodating two, three, four or more prisoners; the extent to which adequate accommodation to meet current or future requirements has been or is being made available; the number of prison spaces lost through the closure of the prisons at the Curragh and Spike Island or other locations; the extent to which such places were replaced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46319/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that on 4 December 2009 there were 4,041 prisoners in custody. The breakdown of the population per prison is listed in the table below:

These figures do not include prisoners who were being held in special/observation cells or beds that were being held for prisoners who were out on a form of temporary release including hospital attendance. In the case of Castlerea Prison 55 prisoners are held in "The Grove" which does not consist of cell type accommodation.

There has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population over recent years. This situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months during which time the total number of persons in custody has increased by 379. This represents a 10% rise in the number in custody.

The Irish Prison Service has been engaged in an extensive programme of investment in prisons infrastructure which has involved both the modernisation of the existing estate and the provision of extra prison spaces. Since 1997 in excess of 1,670 new prison spaces have come on stream in the prison system. These include the new prisons in Castlerea, the Midlands, Cloverhill, the Dóchas Centre and new accommodation in Limerick, Portlaoise and Castlerea prisons and at the open centres in Shelton Abbey and Loughan House.

Current projects will see a further 250 prison spaces provided in the short term by means of:

A new block in Wheatfield Prison which will accommodate approximately 200 prisoners.

The re-opening of the Separation Unit in Mountjoy which will provide an additional 50 spaces.

Work is also expected to commence in 2010 on a new accommodation block in the Portlaoise/Midlands prisons complex which will provide 300 prison spaces. In the longer term, the Government remains firmly committed to replacing the prisons on the Mountjoy complex with modern prison accommodation at Thornton Hall. These are major undertakings involving replacement of close to 40% of the entire prison estate. They will take a number of years to complete but it is my intention that they will proceed as quickly as possible.

These progressive measures contrast starkly with the failure of the Deputy's Party, when last in power, to construct new prison places. The decision to close locations such as the Curragh, Fort Mitchel and Shanganagh Castle, which had a combined capacity of 264 places, was made for operational and financial reasons. Any potential loss in capacity has been more than offset by the bringing into operation of previously unused prison spaces and improvements to the prison estate and the money received from the sale of Shanganagh Prison covered in full the acquisition cost of the site at Thornton Hall.