Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I am satisfied that the purchase of the 150-acre site at Thornton Hall in County Dublin will prove to be excellent value for money for the taxpayer and I have no intention of reconsidering the purchase. To put it in perspective, a survey carried out on behalf of the Office of Public Works in 2001 estimated the cost of refurbishing the 20-acre Mountjoy site at €336 million. At today's prices, it would cost in the region of €418 million. With regard to the purchase price of the Thornton Hall site, I have received no advice from the OPW or the agents retained to advise on the matter that the price paid was in any way exorbitant. The Deputy can point to a particular site several miles away which is cheaper than Thornton Hall. Equally I would be able to point to many sites a few miles away which would be much dearer but that does not prove anything. Not all sites are suitable for a development of the type envisaged.

We were looking for a site that was suitable for the development of a major prison facility with sufficient open space for the proper recreation of prisoners, especially young offenders if they were to be sited there, to serve the Dublin area. Advertisements were placed in the national media inviting owners to put forward sites for consideration. All sites were examined on the basis of carefully prepared objective criteria. The site that met the necessary requirements and proved to be best value was selected.

The other site referred to by the Deputy was not offered to the Irish Prison Service as part of the formal selection process. In any event, I have been advised by the prison service that although a formal assessment was not carried out on the site, it would not have been considered acceptable from a number of important perspectives such as location, access and egress.

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