ALTHOUGH THE firm would not welcome it, the cancellation of the Thornton Hall prison project has again cast Bernard McNamara’s development company Michael McNamara as the “bad guy” in the debacle of a failed public/private partnership. This time, though, it shares the rogues’ gallery, as seen by public servants, with such partners as Barclays Private Equity (global investor for high net worth individuals) and GSL, a leader in building prisons.

That consortium priced itself out of the Thornton contract, even though design and build costs are as much as 20 per cent lower, because of the recession, than originally calculated. Having also embarrassed the Government at a sensitive election time, it’s unlikely the developer will be looked upon kindly by senior public servants and political figures for the next while. It’s not the first time the once high flying developer has bit the dust in public. Having pulled out of the regeneration of St Michael’s Estate and O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin, for the same reason – high cost – it bore the brunt of blame from protesters who took to the streets to highlight its failure to refurbish their environment.

With the failure of Thornton Hall, it’s provoked similar odium from the political establishment. Having failed to regenerate one of the city’s most deprived areas, the company, which has built just about everything else for the Government, can’t face building a prison.