Tasoieach Brian Cowen has said new plans for a modern prison will be brought to Cabinet “within a matter of weeks” after talks with a consortium to build the north Dublin facility broke down.
The Government’s plans to alleviate chronic overcrowding across the prison system suffered the major setback last night following confirmation of the breakdown of talks with the Leargas consortium.
The group had been selected to build the new Thornton Hall super prison. The 150-acre prison site at Kilsallaghan near Swords was acquired in controversial circumstances for €30 million in 2005. The purchase price per acre was far higher than any other sales in the area at that time.
An estimated further €11 million has been spent since the land purchase on other preparations for the project. Two-year negotiations were formally ended yesterday.
Speaking in the Dáil today, Mr Cowen the Government was “fully committed” to replacing the Mountjoy prison complex with a new facility at Thornton Hall.
He said: “It was precisely to make sure that we provide value for money that the project was not going ahead in its present form.”
“We will proceed with this project in a different way on the basis of forthcoming proposals from the Minister for Justice,” he said.
But Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the decision was “just another example of the litany of waste which is the hallmark Fianna Fáil in government over last 12 years”.
Speaking earlier on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said that he would go "back to the market" to seek new offers to build the prison and said he would not simply return to under-bidders.
"I will be going back to Government in a matter of weeks with proposals in relation to an alternative plan.
"Our view is that going back to the market would be a far preferable one for the taxpayer"
While Mr Ahern said the price quoted by the preferred bidder had rendered the project unaffordable, he insisted the site in question was suitable for a prison.
“We decided yesterday the project was not at an end. It’s wrong to say that the purchase of the site in Thornton Hall is a waste of taxpayer’s money".
He described Thornton Hall as an “extremely good site “.
Citing the possibility that the Government would examine a 'scaled-down' proposal, the Minister said the project could be implemented "in a modulated way, and in a phased way where we would get better value for tax-payers' money."
Mr Ahern also opened up the possibility of tapping the Pension Reserve Fund in the event that the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) approach does not suit.
Mr Ahern said increased numbers of gardaí, judges and courts resulted in "more people coming through the system."
He said 400 additional places have been created at Wheatfield, Castlrea and Portlaoise prisons and that the Government would also look at alternatives to prison such as the issue of restorative justice.
Officials from the Irish Prison Service and Department of Justice met representatives of the Leargas consortium, including builder Bernard McNamara, and told them their costs were too high.
The Irish Timesunderstands talks on final costings for the 2,200 berth prison in Kilsallaghan, north Co Dublin, have been near collapse for weeks. The facility would have replaced Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
According to justice sources the consortium quoted costings 30 per cent higher than when shortlisted three years ago. Sources said Leargas argued the funding needed for the project was now much more costly.
A statement from the prison service and Department of Justice said the “significant increase in the cost of finance” meant the Leargas quote was unaffordable.
Leargas said it was disappointed at the Government’s “decision to abandon” Thornton Hall saying it had put three years “work and expense” into the project. It added the project was being discontinued on an affordability basis rather than value for money reasons.
The project will now be retendered. This will likely take at least two years. But Pat Rabitte the Labour Party spokesman on justice said “What it means is that €41.5 million of tax payers money has been spent on what has all the appearances of being another white elephant.”
Fine Gael’s justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the news was a “devastating blow to Ireland’s penal system”.
“Thornton Hall constitutes a stunning level of incompetence on behalf of the Government. Along with PPARS and the voting machines this represents a horrific waste of tax-payer’s money. The consequences of this failure however are far more grave and relate to law and order.”
Almost every prison in the system is seriously overcrowded and the prison population is growing faster than ever.
Mr Ahern said overcrowding would be addressed by providing 400 additional spaces at existing facilities over the summer.
The need to replace Mountjoy and the “critical need” for more prison spaces was well documented. “What is now needed is a new project which reflects the current economic and fiscal realities,” he said.
The Leargas consortium comprises Michael McNamara Construction, Mercury Engineering, Barclays Private Equity and GSL, a prisons operator. It was confirmed as the preferred bidder in May, 2007 for the public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Leargas would have paid the construction costs and would have provided services once the facility opened.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said it was time to rethink building expensive prisons.