Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 575: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will give details of the negotiations process on the Thornton Hall project; the reason for the ongoing delay; when construction will commence and be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11843/09]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 588: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the expenditure to date on the Thornton Hall project with a breakdown of costings; if the project has been indefinitely postponed or shelved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12112/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 575 and 588 together.

The Thornton Hall Prison development is a complex Public Private Partnership project which involves the construction of more than 30 buildings, including 8 prison facilities on the site, a major internal road network, extensive perimeter security and a vast array of security systems both physical and technical.

I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that negotiations with the preferred bidder are currently at an advanced stage. These negotiations are focussed on progressing the Negotiation Phase of the project across financial, technical and legal aspects of the project. This involves the continuation of the design development of the project and contract negotiations to enable the Irish Prison Service to contract with the PPP Company and commence construction of the prison facilities. Construction will commence immediately after contract award and should take no more than 3 years.

Pressures on the international financial markets have the potential to impact on all major capital projects, including the Thornton Hall PPP project. It is the responsibility of the commercial consortium, under the PPP process, to arrange the funding and other resources to deliver the project. The Irish Prison Service is being advised by the National Development Finance Agency in relation to trends and developments in this area.

While negotiations on the contract are at an advanced stage they have not yet been completed to the point that the Project Agreement can be signed. I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that it is anticipated that it will not be possible to have a contract signed until later this year. This timeframe is subject, of course, to the successful completion of the contract negotiations. It is not appropriate, for commercial and procurement reasons, for me to comment on the specific details of the contract negotiations currently in progress. I can say, however, that if the current contract negotiations are not successfully concluded there are other options which can still be considered.

The cost of the acquisition of the site for the prison development was €29.9 million. The cost of the site was largely offset by the sale of the prison lands at Shanganagh, County Dublin. An additional 8.7 acres has also been acquired to provide a dedicated access road to the main prison site. This was done following representations from the local community which reflected concern in relation to the effect of increased traffic generated by the prison development.

A total of €11 million has been expended to end February 2009 on professional fees (€6.1m), site preparation and surveys (€2.7m), landscaping (€0.4m), security (€0.5m) and the acquisition of the additional land for the access road (€1.3 m). As is the case in all major infrastructural projects, comprehensive geological, engineering and archaeological surveys were conducted at the site.