Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I note a number of discrepancies between this document which provides a full account of the Thornton Hall project and the document the committee received on 6 February. For example, the document, dated 14 April 2015, states in respect of capacity that the proposed development at Thornton Hall would have provided a maximum of 723 places, in addition to the female prison. However, the original document, dated 6 February 2015, stated the new prison development would provide accommodation for 1,400 prisoners, with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200. There is a major discrepancy between the figures presented for the numbers of prisoners who would have been accommodated at Thornton Hall.

The original document stated that following the decision not to proceed with the Thornton Hall project, the Department decided to focus resources on providing in-cell sanitation in Mountjoy Prison and noted that the project was nearing completion. The main reason cited by the Department for purchasing a site for a new prison at Thornton Hall was the lack of in-cell sanitation in Mountjoy Prison and the estimated cost of installing same of €400 million. Now that the Department has addressed the primary reason for spending €30 million on the purchase of Thornton Hall, it has not indicated what was the cost of providing in-cell sanitation in Mountjoy Prison. Clarification is required in this regard.

The document, dated 14 April 2015, only gave a brief description of the expenditure of €30 million on the Thornton Hall project and some additional minor expenditure in a couple of other areas, including acreage purchased for ancillary purposes. The document received on 6 February, however, indicated that total expenditure on the prison development project was €50.14 million. There is, therefore, a discrepancy of €20 million in expenditure. It is one of a number of serious discrepancies.

It should also be recalled that Mountjoy Prison was to be sold and that Shanganagh Castle, the only juvenile open prison in the State, was sold. There is now no juvenile prison to make up the shortfall in expenditure. The contents of the two documents suggest either that they were produced by two different people or that the author approached the issue from two perspectives. I suggest we seek clarification on their contents.