THE Minister for Justice has said that contracts for 180 more prison places at Limerick and Castlerea will be signed before Christmas, and for another 460 places at Mountjoy and Wheatfield in Dublin by next spring.
Speaking after addressing the Oireachtas select committee on legislation and security, Ms Owen also said she hoped to sign a £1.2 million contract for the provision of a fixed-wing plane and a helicopter for dedicated Garda use within the next fortnight. Both aircraft will be in service by late spring or early summer next year.
Ms Owen earlier told the committee that overtime in the prison service this year would amount to £19.1 million - £5.6 million more than in the original estimates - out of a total prison bill of over £122 million.
She said the main factors leading to the increase in overtime payments were prison officers' escort duties, pressure on accommodation and the drugs problem.
The Minister said she would be able to start tackling the overtime problem once the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous) Bill, currently in the Seanad, becomes law early next year. This will allow officers to take remand prisoners to a court near the prison where they are being held, instead of to the court where they have first appeared, which is the case at present.
Ms Owen also sought a supplementary estimate of £15.48 million (compared to an original estimate of more than £425 million) for the Garda Siochana. She said the main area of over-expenditure was in the Garda's operation against the cross-border smuggling of BSE-infected cattle, which had necessitated the temporary deployment of 327 gardai to Border areas.