Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry I missed some of the earlier proceedings, so I may criss-cross on some of the questions that may have been asked. I ask the committee to bear with me because I was not here to witness the debate. I had other commitments in the Dáil.

I wish to follow on from Deputy Connolly's point about capacity in our prisons. We have 12 prisons, which I believe are full, at a cost of €327 million, and with a staff of some 3,300. Is the capacity there for the prisons that are coming on stream or the prisons we foresee being built next year? We all hear about the revolving door system. I am aware of a case some years ago in Kilkenny where an individual was brought up with two garda escorts. There were costs with bringing that person up, and the garda had to get cover for the day and food and so on. The man they brought up was out and in his home before they came back that evening. I ask this in the context of capacity in the years ahead. Have we enough prisons and prison spaces currently? Reference was made to Thornton Hall. I went to see that site with a committee a long time ago. It was going to be a state-of-the-art prison. It is still in the pipeline, once funds become available, to have that state-of-the-art prison at Thornton Hall. There have already been costs incurred there.