Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

During the last Question Time, the Minister told us there was a 30% increase in the price for Thornton Hall which he described as coming to hundreds of millions of euro. Since then I have been attempting to understand how 30% of the price could come to hundreds of millions of euro. I have been informed the increase in the construction price was actually €30 million, of which 85% is due to sourcing moneys on the international bank markets and 15% due to alterations in the day-to-day operation sought by the Prison Service.

Moreover, I was informed that €30 million of additional construction work was demanded by the Irish Prison Service in changed specifications that were borne by the company and that the company itself made submissions to the Department in respect of a changed specification that is to modern international standards and which would have brought home the project for €40 million less but that this was rejected. This constitutes a dramatically different picture and the Minister should take this opportunity to tell Members whether there is any truth in it, because this information is well-founded.

See this speech in context