Written answers
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Department of Justice and Equality
Departmental Properties
Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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2130. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of unused sites or buildings owned by his Department in each county, in tabular form. [44183/25]
Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Details of properties owned by my Department that are currently vacant is provided in the below table.
Property | Address |
|---|---|
| Westview House | Audley’s Place, Cork City |
| Old Cork Prison | Rathmore Road, Cork City |
| Thornton Hall | Kilsallaghan, Co. Dublin |
The old Cork Prison site consists of a number of buildings including prisoner accommodation blocks, some of which date back to the 19th Century, a work and training area and staff mess. The facility closed in 2016 following the transfer of prisoners to a new facility built on a site adjacent to the former prison. The facility is in a very poor physical state and unsuitable for use in its current form. It is intended to construct a new prison on the site of the old Cork Prison.
The 160 acre site at Thornton Hall was purchased by the State in January 2005 and has been made available to other agencies while retaining some of the site for any future prison needs. The site has been used by a farmer in recent years and a portion of the site is currently being developed to accommodate people applying for International Protection. Responsibility for international protection accommodation transferred to my Department from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality in May 2025. More information in relation to this project can be found at the following link - .
I am pleased to have negotiated funding of €2.180 billion under the National Development Plan for major capital projects in the Justice sector from 2026-2030. This is an increase of some €800 million on the previous NDP in 2021.
€495 million is being allocated to the Irish Prison Service from 2026-2030 with projects planned at Castlerea, Cloverhill, Mountjoy, Portlaoise, Wheatfield, Midlands, Dóchas and the Old Cork prison site. The capital allocation will also, for the first time, allow substantial work to commence on the development of a new prison at Thornton Hall.
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