Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. The committee discussion earlier was grossly inadequate. The debate is to be guillotined tonight but it is totally unacceptable that the committee debate on this matter was also guillotined. Some Members of the House, myself included, have specific issues on which we required some clarity. Sadly, an opportunity to get the information we required was not afforded us at the committee.

I have had the chance since then to look at some of the drawings in respect of proposals that are being put forward at the moment. I wish to get some clarification on some of these matters — perhaps when the Minister makes his response.

I wish to focus specifically on the immigration element of this facility. The Minister told us at the committee that there is no provision for asylum seekers. If that is the case I ask the Minister where those asylum seekers, who are currently accommodated within the prison system, are to be housed? A number of asylum seekers are detained in prison at present.

The Minister has said that up to 100 places are to be provided for deportees in this new facility. If they double up, if there is sufficient facility for them to do so, 7,300 bednights a year are available for deportees. I question the logic of this move. There is a significant and continuing reduction in the numbers of those coming into this country seeking asylum who might potentially be deported from the country. The number of asylum applications does not equate with the predicted dramatic increase in the number of detainees awaiting deportation.

According to the Irish Prison Service's report of 2006, 1,113 individuals were detained in prisons prior to deportation from the State. The Minister said the facility to be provided in Thornton Hall will cater for men and women. I understand from my map that the men's complex will be separate to that of the women. Will there be places in the women's prison designated for female detainees pending deportation? Alternatively, will they be placed in a cordoned-off section of the designated facility in the men's prison? Will the Minister clarify this?

I do not see the logic behind catering for 100 places. The Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008, which is currently in committee, provides for summary deportation. If someone poses a potential flight risk, the Garda need only pick him or her up when the plane is waiting at Dublin Airport to transport him or her out of the country. The number entering the system is far lower than it was and I therefore do not believe there is a strong case for increasing capacity for detainees awaiting deportation. At present, a number of individuals awaiting deportation are detained in prisons around the country, including those in Limerick and Castlerea. Does the Government intend to detain all such individuals in Thornton Hall?

It would be remiss of me not to mention two of my newest constituents, who are detained in Castlerea Prison. They have not been prepared to give the authorities any idea of their identification or origin. They are reported as having said they are quite happy to remain in the prison rather than be deported. If this trend were to continue in Thornton Hall, a substantial number of places in the prison would be taken up by individuals who are not prepared to identify themselves or their origins.

If 100 places are maintained for detainees awaiting deportation per year, there will be an annual bill of €6 million. This is a conservative estimate. There are better ways to spend it than on holding facilities for deportees. What is the Minister's plan for asylum seekers if they are not to be accommodated in this facility? I hope he will provide some clarity on this. In his contribution on Committee Stage, the Minister stated there was no provision for asylum seekers but that there is provision in respect of deportees. It is fundamental that there be clarity on this specific issue because a significant sum is required to hold people in the facility, even if it is to be on a short-term basis.

When I raised this issue during Committee Stage of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 with the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, he said it is fair to say the basic cost of securing, maintaining and accommodating a deportee, discounting the cost of rehabilitative training, for example, is similar to that of detaining any other type of prisoner. Naturally, if one were in prison for a short period, one would not require rehabilitative training. Will the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, state the number of detainees awaiting deportation who will be housed in the proposed facility annually? There will definitely be a dramatic increase in the number to be detained therein. The number involved at present is significantly lower than that for which provision is being made at the proposed facility.

During the debate of the joint committee today, I referred to the cost of planting mature trees on part of the boundary of the site at Thornton Hall. I had the opportunity to look at the relevant drawings in the Oireachtas Library and noted the location of existing houses in the vicinity of the prison. The Minister intends to plant mature trees to give instant height and foliage to a depth of ten to 20 metres in the vicinity of the houses. This will affect a significant amount of the perimeter of the prison. I estimate it will be affect 50%, or approximately a mile. If this is correct, the scale of planting will be pretty significant. Will the Minster indicate the cost of doing this? I presume he knows the cost and I hope he can furnish it to the House this evening.

Why was the Office of Public Works not involved directly in the design of the new prison? It was involved directly in the design of the last greenfield prison development, that is, Castlerea Prison in County Roscommon. Surely the office has developed expertise in this regard that could facilitate the design of the proposed prison and the surrounding complex. Senator O'Toole referred today to the impact on the existing water table and aquifers of constructing a concrete wall whose foundations will be significantly deep in the ground.

I commend the amendment to the House and hope the Minister will accept it.

See this speech in context