Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Minister claimed in his response to me that the sum of approximately €11 million that had been expended in the period since the purchase of Thornton Hall was all moneys employed as part of future investment for the project, and that it was not wasted money. Whatever has been expended, if the footprint of what was proposed is not to proceed, surely in terms of site security and whatever other development works, a significant element of it will not have any forward application? It is a sustainable argument that moneys have been expended unnecessarily over the period, if at the end of the day the whole thing goes pear-shaped and the money is wasted. It will join the litany of many other areas of wastage by this Government in the past decade plus.

The Minister made reference to alternative funding mechanisms. I emphasise this is not to in any way commend an approach to Thornton Hall by any alternative means. I record again my opposition to the proposition in principle, both in regard to the so-called super prison and to the transfer of the Central Mental Hospital. The Minister has indicated that there are realistic alternatives to the employment of PPPs in terms of funding public capital works. That is the first time I have heard such talk for some time, if at all previously. I commend that approach for appropriate public capital works in the future. The National Pensions Reserve Fund is just such a mechanism for funding these works into the future.

Will the Minister employ that mechanism to fund the essential major refurbishment works necessary in existing prison facilities, having ensured that the current prison numbers are reduced appropriately in line with earlier arguments. I refer to the detainment of persons for the non-payment of fines, many of whom, despite what the Minister said, are in prison because they cannot afford to make repayments. People are in prison because they are unable or incapable of meeting debt repayments to various financial institutions, a number of whom are clearly from each and every one of our constituencies. I refer also to those I mentioned previously, immigrants who are unnecessarily detained in prison environments due to technical matters relevant to their presence in this jurisdiction. Surely, those are the steps and measures that must be taken? The National Pensions Reserve Fund is a means of funding the necessary works to address the already inadequate prison conditions that are in use today.

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