Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The optimum prison capacity is for 400 or more prisoners. In the past ten or 12 years, the Irish Prison Service has sought to concentrate resources on larger prisons rather than having prisons spread throughout the country. It was €29.9 million on the site and €1.3 million in additional costs - €31.2 million.

On the value of the site, it is interesting to note that a local auctioneer who was interviewed by RTE radio at the time of the purchase confirmed that he would not have been able to identify a similar site closer to Dublin for less money.

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