Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the cell sizes in square metres of the most typical cells in each closed prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46622/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In the original wings of our older prisons - Mountjoy Male Prison, St. Patrick's Institution, Limerick Prison and Cork Prison - a typical cell would have a floor area of approximately 8 square metres.

Three new cell blocks have been commissioned in recent years at Portlaoise, Castlerea and Wheatfield prisons. All of the cells in these facilities contain an ensuite shower, toilet and wash hand basin. The total floor area ranges from just over 9 sq meters at Portlaoise to approximately 13 square metres in the case of the new block at Wheatfield.

The size of the cells in the proposed new Midlands prison will be in the region of 13 square metres.