Parliamentary Question: Prison Building Programme

4th April 2007

 31. Ms Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform  if a review of the spending approval procedures has been implemented in relation to the approval given by his Department for the purchase of the Thornton Prison site; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a 120 acre site nearby at Corrstown which was on the shortlist of possible sites has now sold for €100,000 an acre, half the Thornton price; the measures his Department has implemented since the purchase of Thornton to ensure value for taxpayers' money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10215/07]

Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): A 120 acre site at Corrstown was one of a number of sites selected for a detailed examination and rejected by the Mountjoy Complex Replacement Site Committee which consisted of officials of the IPS, the Dept of Justice Equality and Law Reform, one of the Commissioners for Public Works and an outside valuer. The examination by consulting engineers led to its being rejected as being unsuitable for the development of a major prison complex. The road access was not acceptable for a prison development, the shape of the site was not compatible with the intended campus layout and the land was undulating and would require considerable excavation to allow for necessary development.

The purchase of a site that was not fit for purpose would not have represented value for the taxpayer's money regardless of the price paid.

The spending approval measures applied in the case of the Thornton site have been scrutinised in detail, fully comply with Government guidelines and delivered an excellent site which will provide good long term value for the taxpayer.

No land that was suitable for a prison and which was nearer to Dublin was identified by the committee as available for purchase at a lesser price and no such land has, to the knowledge of the Department or the IPS changed hands at less than €200,000 per acre since the purchase of Thornton.