asked the Minister for Justice if he will make a statement on the plans for the prison officers' houses at Cowley Place, Dublin 7; whether or not these houses are going to be demolished; and if any arrangements have been made for the rehousing of the prison officers and their families.
Written Answers. - Prison Officers' Houses.
34.
Official accommodation for married Prison Service personnel at Cowley Place has, for several years, been beyond economic repair. The houses were built at the turn of the century and it would be inordinately expensive to overhaul them. The outcome would also be unsatisfactory because they have inherent structural and other deficiencies.
Vacated houses are no longer allocated to new occupants and already 29 of the 50 houses in Upper and Lower Cowley Place are empty. Ultimately the houses will be demolished and the ten cottages formerly on St. Patrick's Avenue have already been cleared.
As was already outlined to the Deputy, by my predecessor, in a written reply on 21 May 1986 in the Official Report, (volume 366, column 1878), it was decided in 1981-82 that provision of official accommodation for Prison Service personnel would be discontinued. Levels of service remuneration — the pay scale for basic grade prison officers is £9,866 to £12,383, plus a number of allowances, including annual rent allowance of £1,015 and £1,353 for single and married officers respectively — are considered to be sufficient to enable personnel to provide accommodation for themselves, as comparably remunerated sectors of the community do.
The whole situation as regards the houses and official accommodation generally has been known to staff for some years past and was fully discussed with their representatives under the Scheme of Conciliation and Arbitration for the Civil Service.