Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The Deputy has raised a number of issues in his question and in the time available I will try to respond briefly to them all.

At the start of 2004, I announced my intention to replace the facilities in the Mountjoy Prison complex with a new prison facility on a greenfield site in the greater Dublin area. I am determined to improve facilities for prisoners and to do away with the practice of slopping out in Mountjoy, and the only feasible way to do that was to construct new facilities on a much more spacious site. When the new facilities are completed, the Mountjoy site, which is in a densely populated urban area, will become available for redevelopment.

After my announcement, advertisements were put in the print media inviting interested persons to come forward with potentially suitable sites. A committee comprising representatives from the Office of Public Works, the Irish Prison Service and my Department was subsequently established to review all potential sites and make recommendations. The committee had the benefit of advice from a property expert from CB Richard Ellis Gunne who supported the committee in an advisory capacity. Professional planning and engineering advice was also obtained as appropriate. Details of the process followed by the committee are contained in the reports of the committee, which are available on my Department's website.

The committee recommended the purchase of a particular site. This recommendation was accepted and, on 26 January 2005, a contract was signed for the purchase of a 150 acre site at Thornton Hall, The Ward, County Dublin for a cost of €29.9 million, which is just less than €200,000 per acre. An initial payment of €2.9 million, which is 10% of the price, has been paid by way of deposit.

The intention is to build state-of-the-art facilities for adult male and female prisoners on the new site. Detailed planning could not commence until a site was acquired and this work is now under way. The cost of developing the new site will be substantial but it will not be possible to give any reliable estimate of total cost until the design phase has been completed and tenders obtained. I do not intend to give an indicative price here because that will just drive up the price against me. I can advise the Deputy, however, that it is far less than the estimated €400 million it would have cost to build an entirely new prison complex on the existing Mountjoy site.

There was no advance consultation with local communities in any of the areas in which potential sites were located prior to a final decision being made. I am aware that some of the local residents close to the Thornton Hall site have certain concerns about the proposed development of the site. Immediately following the announcement of the development, the Irish Prison Service wrote to residents in the immediate vicinity of the site chosen and assured them that the highest priority will be given to allaying, in so far as possible, their genuine concerns. This letter was followed up by the Irish Prison Service offering to meet concerned groups. Two such meetings were arranged but were postponed at the request of local representatives. Plans for the development of the site will be made available to local interests in due course.

I have had no discussion with the health authorities about the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital. That is a matter for the Minister for Health and Children in the first instance. The Government has decided in principle, subject to further study, that the Central Mental Hospital should be transferred from Dundrum to the same site as the new prison facility but that it should be kept separate and distinct from any prison facility.

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