Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Last year, I asked the Minister about his plans for PPPs and privatisation and he informed me that detailed research had not been conducted into the privatisation of prisons or the criminal justice agencies. Is that still the case? Does the Minister accept that he does not know how much less a prison built under a public private partnership will cost than one constructed on a public basis?

The choice of Thorntown stinks to high heaven. Does the Minister not agree that it was not acceptable for Ronan Webster to attend a meeting, having missed the previous meeting, and present a site for consideration which was not included on the original list of 34 or on the short-lists? At the end of the meeting in question, a deal worth €29 million was signed. Does that not stink to high heaven? Was there a breach of the tendering process in this instance, given that the Minister advertised for expressions early in the year and that this site was not included? Will those people who took the time to submit applications have a case to state that their sites were not given proper consideration because the site to which I refer was given preferred status which permitted it to jump ahead of everything else in the queue?

Why did the planning and community impact criterion come sixth out of the eight determining criteria? Is it because community consultation is less important than access or the proximity of a site to public transport?

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