3rd November 2004
256. Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reformnew prisons built under PPPs will be ultimately less costly to the State than prisons built by the public sector; and if not, the reason he has decided to pursue PPPs in the absence of evidence of cost-savings that he is willing to stand behind. [27604/04]
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): As I indicated in reply to Question No. 182 of 21 October 2004, any public private partnership project in this jurisdiction must be sanctioned by the Department of Finance and in that context all the costs of any potential public private partnership project must be evaluated. The Department of Finance established the National Development Finance Agency to advise Departments in respect of public private partnership projects and my Department consults with them as appropriate. This procedure will be adhered to for proposals involving any new prisons.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.