Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I do not accept that for one minute. As I said, this was the best site available with reasonable proximity to Dublin city. People such as the Deputies would complain if this prison were in the middle of nowhere, but it is not. It is contiguous with the confluence of a number of motorways, two miles from the M50 and ten miles from the city centre. It is an extremely good site.

I explained in my answer to the private notice question - this was accepted by the members of the Committee of Public Accounts who considered the issue - that the Prison Service was correct in not doing this deal in secrecy. It clearly indicated to the people it was dealing with-----

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