Developer of super prison to be announced by Easter

Dáil Report:The developer chosen to build the super prison at Thornton Hall in north Dublin will be announced by Easter, according to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

As the Opposition again attacked Minister for Justice Michael McDowell about the €30 million price tag for the site, Mr Ahern said that "we required a modern, standalone, large prison on a secure site that had adequate facilities".

He told Labour leader Pat Rabbitte that "the evaluation has been completed and I understand the preferred bidder will be announced by Easter".

Mr Rabbitte, who has raised the issue on a number of occasions, said the Minister had previously stated that the preferred bidder would be identified by the end of February. He asked the Taoiseach how he proposed to protect taxpayers' money given the record of expenditure on the site.

He claimed that the Taoiseach "is in no position to lecture about value for money and waste of public money when he stands over a decision like Thornton Hall. It has been a waste of money. It did not meet valuation criteria. It was embarked on in the manner that has been rigorously criticised not by me but the Comptroller and Auditor General, yet the Taoiseach tells this House he wants a leading prison. So what? Why did you not buy one or build one and get value for money rather than giving away tens of millions of taxpayers' money in this fashion that has been indicted by people who know what they are talking about."

He quoted the comptroller's report in which he said that at least twice the market value was paid for the lands at €200,000 an acre compared to €100,000 an acre for adjacent lands sold recently.

The Minister was parted from "taxpayers' money doled out in the most foolish purchase, because, as the comptroller said, they saw him coming".

The Labour leader added that "the Minister forgot to factor in an access to the site. The Lord knows how much he will pay for the roadway in because they know he is coming now. He appears to be an easy touch but he is paying with taxpayers' money. Yet the Taoiseach boasts about the progress made on the prisons."

However, rejecting his argument Mr Ahern said they wanted to build a state-of-the-art prison on a large site that had all the facilities unlike some prisons, which had deplorable facilities.

He accused Mr Rabbitte of being inconsistent because the Labour leader was demanding that they should publish the cost of building a metro but that they should not have published the cost for the prison site.

Mr Ahern added that "controversies will always arise when a prison is being built, although having been involved in a different ministry some years ago when the prison in Castlerea was opened, people were glad of a prison in their area from an employment and security point of view".

He accused the Opposition of coming up with "the same old story. They criticise existing facilities but we are trying to improve the lot of unfortunate people in society who require proper facilities when they are incarcerated."