I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 176 together.
The initial contract price for the construction of the Midlands Prison was £36.9 million, including a retention of £600,000. This contract, which was signed on 20 May 1998, was for the provision of a 400 place secure prison with all necessary services and facilities on a site owned by my Department adjacent to Portlaoise Prison. Subsequent to the commencement of construction in June 1999, a further contract was entered into with the approval of the Government for an additional wing with accommodation for 115 prisoners. The cost of this contract was £6.9 million, including a retention of £120,000.
Both contracts were awarded on a part design, build and finance basis under which the contractor undertook to develop the design and deliver the buildings in accordance with a brief furnished by the Office of Public Works which managed the project on behalf of my Department and the Prison Service. While the above contracts included a certain level of fit-out, it will be appreciated that on a project of this size and complexity it was decided from the outset not to include all necessary works or fittings in the main contracts. In organising the project in this fashion, my officials were following the practice which had applied in most other prison building works in the modern era. Additional sums totalling approximately £1.6 million have, accordingly, been expended to date on a range of essential items for the prison, including, in particular, security features, locking systems, miscellaneous minor building works, fitting out of workshops and classrooms, etc.