Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 May 2010
31 Deputy John Perry asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the amount of money that has been spent on the Thornton Hall project to date in 2010; the way in which this money has been spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19441/10]
View answer77 Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position of the Thornton Hall prison facility; the amount that has been spent on the facility by the State thus far, including acquisition of land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19648/10]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 31 and 71 together.
The development of the new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin is proceeding on a phased basis. Phase one comprises essential enabling works required for the prison development. These works include the construction of the dedicated access road, perimeter security wall and various off-site services. Phase two of the project comprises the various prisoner accommodation blocks, workshops, education facilities and administration buildings.
Tenders for the design and construction of the access road to serve the prison development were issued in March this year. The competition is still in progress and it is anticipated that contract award will take place in June with construction work commencing on site in July.
It is intended that tender documents for various off-site works will be issued later this month with construction work expected to commence in September this year.
The tender documentation for the design and construction of the perimeter wall of the prison is currently at an advanced stage of preparation. It is intended to invite tenders for this phase of the project by the end of September with the construction work commencing immediately following the completion of the access road in January 2011. The construction of the perimeter wall is estimated to take about 12 months to complete.
The National Development Finance Agency acting on behalf of the Irish Prison Service, has initiated an EU wide tender competition for the appointment of multi-disciplinary technical advisors for the project. The technical advisors will develop the output specification and other tender documents which will be the subject of a tender competition later this year.
A total of €42.24 million has been expended on the project to end March 2010.
This sum includes the site cost of €29.9 million. The cost of the site was offset by the sale of surplus prison lands at Shanganagh, County Dublin. An additional 8.7 acres has also been acquired at a cost of €1.3 million to provide a dedicated access route to the main prison site. This was done following representations from the local community which reflected concern in relation to the potential effect of increased traffic generated by the prison development.
This sum also includes €7.095 million expended on professional fees, €2.919 million on site preparation and various surveys, €0.468 million on landscaping and €0.553 million on security. As is the case with all major infrastructure projects a comprehensive set of geological, engineering and archaeological surveys have been undertaken at the site. These surveys will help to reduce the overall construction programme once a contract for the construction of the prison is awarded.
