Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I wish to scotch the myth of this being a super prison, it is eight separate facilities within an overall site. It was designed in such a way that all of the separate facilities could share services and provide value for money due to the economies of scale involved. That goes back to the point I made earlier, that it is better to have sizeable prisons rather than a plethora of smaller prisons around the country with separate systems and staff. It is preferable to have economies of scale and that was the principle behind the project. It is not like an American super-style prison, it was to be designed and built in the most modern way according to best international practice.

On the use of PPPs, it is still a viable option because under it the State, and therefore the taxpayer, would not have paid a penny until such time as the prison was handed over. The unitary annual costs would not begin until the prison was handed over. That would be a benefit from the point of view of the Exchequer.

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