Vol. 469 No. 2
124 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice when prison places will be available in Castlerea Prison, County Roscommon; the number of such places which will be initially available; the time and schedule for the various expansion stages of Castlerea Prison; when is it proposed to have prison officers transferred to Castlerea; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17116/96]
The first phase of the Castlerea Prison project will provide accommodation for approximately 25 offenders and is expected to be ready for occupation in November. Work is currently ongoing on selecting suitable offenders. Applications have also been sought from prison staff who wish to transfer to Castlerea and the deadline for applications is next Friday, 27 September. The design layout has been agreed for the Castlerea Main Prison with 125 spaces approximately. Work is progressing on the outline drawings and the preparation of tender documents will be concluded by the end of next month.
