Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Negotiations are under way with a preferred bidder, who was selected following an EU tender procedure, for the design, construction, finance and maintenance of the proposed prison facilities at Thornton Hall, north County Dublin. The project aims to replace the prison facilities currently located at the Mountjoy complex which, as is widely acknowledged, is in urgent need of replacement with a modern and operationally cost-effective prison facility that will provide a range of services and living conditions for offenders comparable with international best practice.

The new prison complex is being procured under a public private partnership model which will include the construction of the prison facilities with the ancillary infrastructure, including services etc. The relevant development consent procedure for the project is set out in Part 4 of the Prisons Act 2007. The Act provides for an environmental impact assessment and public consultation in respect of the proposed development. These procedures will afford all interested parties an opportunity to make their views known and have them considered prior to a decision on the development. Subject to satisfactory completion of the statutory phase and the successful conclusion of the contract negotiations it is expected that construction work will commence next spring.

It is not possible, for commercial and public procurement reasons, to provide details of the overall likely costs of the project. Indeed, the disclosure of such information is, in any event, specifically precluded under Department of Finance guidelines on public private partnership projects.

I can confirm that a total of €36,444,050 has been spent to date on the project. The cost of the site acquisition was €29,900,000. An additional 8.7 acres has been acquired to provide a dedicated access route to the main site. This was done following representations from the local community which reflected concern in relation to the effect of increased traffic generated by the prison project. The cost of this additional land was €1,305,000.

A total of €5,239,050 has been expended to date on preliminary site works, including surveys, landscaping, security and maintenance of the property, archaeological and topographical studies etc., and professional fees, including legal and specialist technical advice.

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