Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the status of Government plans to build a new prison at Thornton Hall in north Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35392/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware the development of the new prison campus at Thornton Hall, Kilsallaghan, County Dublin is now proceeding on a phased basis. Phase one comprises essential preliminary works to facilitate the prison development including the construction of a dedicated access road, the installation of off-site services and the construction of the perimeter security wall of the prison.

Access Road

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that a contract for the construction of the access road to serve the prison development was awarded to SIAC Construction Limited in July 2010 and construction work is already well underway in relation to this phase of the project. The access road and underpass are expected to be completed in February next year.

Off-site Works

A procurement competition for the installation of the off-site services (e.g. water mains, sewerage and communications / technology ducts) to serve the prison development issued to companies on the Irish Prison Service Construction Framework in August. The closing date was 6 October 2010 and the evaluation of the tenders by the Irish Prison Service and its technical advisors has commenced. It is intended to award a contract in respect of the off-site works in November. The work will take approximately eight months to complete.

Perimeter Security Wall

The procurement process for the design and construction of the perimeter wall of the prison is already in progress. A pre-qualification competition from which suitably qualified contractors will be invited to tender for the design and construction of the perimeter wall of the prison and related works issued on the E-Tenders web site in August 2010. The closing date for expressions of interest was 28 September 2010. Twenty submissions were received and the evaluation of these submissions is already underway. A short list comprising 5 to 7 candidates will be established from this procurement competition and these candidates will be invited to tender for the construction of the perimeter wall and ancillary works later this month. Construction of the perimeter wall is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2011 and will take just under a year to complete.

Prison Buildings

As I mentioned previously in the House, my priority is to provide good quality, regime focussed prison accommodation at Thornton Hall prison campus as quickly as possible. A phased development of the prison campus is now being pursued. The next phase of the works will see the procurement of prison accommodation blocks and related support facilities commencing in the New Year using traditional procurement methods. This phase will provide 400 cells capable of accommodating up to 700 prisoners. Subsequent phases will see the balance of 1,000 cells provided at the site.