Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I will revert to the Minister of State on that.

Even though it is less than 16 miles from this House, Kilsallaghan is a completely rural area. It does not have a pub or a shop and its community comprises a couple of hundred people. It is not a village or a hamlet; it is merely a spread of houses. I ask Members to consider what this huge development will mean for the area. As the Minister of State noted, we are acting as planning authority for this project. Certain Members on the opposite side of the House regularly speak about the importance of planning. This should be considered as a planning issue as well as a prison issue. Today I am dealing with the local impact.

Thus far, the project has brought no return to the local community. Residents believe that they did not ask for a lot and that more should be offered to them. I acknowledge that the access road, which allows entry to the site directly from the N2, will reduce direct pressure on local roads, although there will clearly be a considerable increase in local traffic. The local community appreciates that provision. In regard to the new Garda station, I have been burgled at least ten times in the 35 years I have lived in Kilsallaghan, so local security is important. In recognising that the environment of the area will be irreversibly changed, I ask the Minister of State to address certain issues. Local people are concerned and a decision should be taken by the Minister of State to the effect that their home security will be upgraded. There is no reason this could not be done.

Cycle paths and footpaths must be put in place. Many people in the area like to go for walks. If there are 1,000 inmates in the prison — questions have arisen as to what will be the final number — and 2,000 staff, this new facility will have a population larger than those of many towns. Some locals asked that a perimeter footpath be put in place in order that people might walk in a safe environment. There is also a need for a bridle path to be installed because there are some horse-riding facilities in the area. People will not be able to ride their horses on the roads in the future and this will put some of the facilities to which I refer out of business.

There is a reference to wind farms in the Minister's observations. It is stated that the prison wall would not affect the operation of wind farms. I do not know from where that observation came but I suspect it arose on foot of a point I made in my personal submission in respect of this matter to the effect that I had intended — and gone some substantial way towards — installing a 6 kilowatt wind generator adjacent to our home. The man from County Cork who was installing the generator informed me — I want the Department to check the technical position in this regard — that I would need a clean sweep of 100 m around the generator and that a 7 m wall would create turbulence which would not allow for the proper generation of wind energy. I am not an expert in this area but that is why I called a halt to the project.

I was not being a smart alec when I made my submission and I did not refer therein to wind farms. I made a point in respect of the installation of one wind generator. Members will be aware that I am interested in this matter. There are solar panels installed at our home and we are particularly interested in green initiatives.

The Minister of State referred to the local authority. A complex relationship exists among local authority planning, the county development plan and what is happening in this instance. It is not sufficient to say various things are being made available and that people should deal with the local authority. The Irish Prison Service and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform should discuss matters with the local authority. For example, the local authority should be informed that all houses in the area should be connected up to the sewerage system, that any homes requiring three-phase electricity should be connected to the relevant system and that broadband should be rolled out in the area. Even though it is located only 17 miles from the House, the area does not have access to broadband.

I am trying to raise simple, straightforward issues. I could speak at length — my colleague, Senator Bacik will do so — about the philosophy behind imprisonment. However, I do not have the luxury of doing so at this stage.

It is not sufficient to consult local people in respect of this matter. The community in the area will be changed forever. It is not about consulting, it is about negotiating. The Department and the Irish Prison Service must negotiate with local people and not merely listen to what they have to say and then make a decision. An offer must be put to the locals, who must be allowed to indicate what they want and then an agreed position can be reached. The same process must be followed in respect of the local authority. The community in the area feels hard done by. The prison authorities now have a good opportunity to put something back into that community.