Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will clarify what I said in case there is any ambiguity. I said the Department had revoked the ministerial order put in place for the Thornton Hall site and that there were plans to develop a replacement order in the coming months. That is what I indicated to the Senator.

In terms of Thornton Hall being used as a prison, it is unquestionably the case that we need further prison space. That is why the programme for Government commits to providing 1,500 new spaces. Part of that will have to be the construction of a new prison. Thornton Hall appears to be a viable option as a location for the construction of that new prison.

These things, I hate to say, take considerable periods of time. We have an overcrowding crisis in our prisons. It was there last year, it was there when I arrived and it is there at present. We also need to look at solutions in terms of developing immediate spots and spaces for our Prison Service. That is ongoing. The Irish Prison Service is doing very good work in that regard but it is not a quick fix, I regret to say, in terms of resolving the overcrowding crisis.