Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 417: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of high security wings and sections in each prison here; the date of establishment of each; and the average cost per year to maintain each one for each of the past five years. [15480/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The majority of institutions within the prison estate are medium security closed prisons and accommodate a wide variety of prisoners ranging from those serving short sentences for relatively minor offences up to prisoners serving lengthy determinate sentences or life for serious offences. The exception is Portlaoise Prison which is a maximum security prison. The most recent available costings in relation to Portlaoise Prison are set out in the following table:

The cost per prisoner is based on the overall operating costs in each year, i.e, the actual running costs, such as pay, light and heat, food, maintenance, small works, etc., and also includes certain fixed costs that arise irrespective of the number of prisoners in custody, e.g. staffing numbers, utilities, etc. In addition, all headquarters and central service costs are allocated over the prison establishments for the purpose of calculating the cost per prisoner at each location. Major capital expenditure is excluded from the calculation in the interest of facilitating comparison between individual institution costs. In addition, a Segregation Unit was opened in Cloverhill Prison in May 2007. The average cost per prisoner in Cloverhill Prison for 2007 was €84,700. The increase in the annual cost per prisoner during the period 2004 to 2007 is due primarily to pay increases under the National Pay Agreements.

The new prison facilities at Thornton Hall will include a purpose designed high security facility capable of accommodating up to 40 prisoners in a safe, secure setting with appropriate support facilities. It is also intended that the proposed prison development at Kilworth, County Cork will have a high security unit and this is being provided for in the design brief for the new facility.