Six 100-acre sites in relatively isolated locations around Dublin have been shortlisted for the construction of a new prison to replace Mountjoy. Liam Reid reports
The Government is also planning to relocate the Central Mental Hospital, currently in Dundrum, to the same 100-acre site, in what will ultimately be the largest security complex in the State.
The move will lead to a cash windfall for the Government of more than €100 million when the existing sites of the prison and the hospital are sold to private developers.
Both facilities were built more than 150 years ago and have been cited in inspection reports as needing a complete overhaul.
The lack of in-cell sanitation and continuing practice of "slopping out" in Mountjoy were highlighted ithe State's first prisons inspection report as being "draconian, primitive, unhygienic and unhealthy".
While the six sites shortlisted by the Irish Prison Service are in various locations around the capital, the Office of Public Works (OPW), which is assisting in the search for a new site, is believed to favour a location off the M1 motorway in north Co Dublin, close to Man'o'war, with the possibility of a new link road being built to it from the motorway.
An expert group, made up of representatives from the Department of Justice, the Irish Prison Service and the OPW, is currently putting together proposals for the replacement site, which the group will submit to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, in the autumn.
Yesterday a spokesman for the Prisons Service said six sites have now been shortlisted from a list drawn up by the OPW of 30 possible locations. The sites are not being identified at present due to commercial sensitivities.
OPW staff drew up the list which included State-owned land and private farms, following advertisements for expressions of interest from landowners with 100 acres or more in the greater Dublin area or close to the capital.
Senior Government sources have indicated that while the current search by the Prison Service is confined to identifying a site for a prison, the size of the site - 100 acres - will enable the new site to accommodate a new Central Mental Hospital.
"Having both on the same site makes an awful lot of sense," according to a Government source. "They are both high-security facilities and there would be significant savings if they were built as part of the same complex."
According to officials, the new complex is likely to be located in a relatively remote location, away from housing or commercial developments to make it more difficult for drugs to be smuggled in for prisoners and patients. "Drugs are the biggest problem in the prison system at present," according to one source.
At present the town and city centre locations of most Irish prisons make it easy for drugs to be sent into the prison by being thrown or fired by catapult over prison walls and into the yards.
A countryside location will also limit the potential for public protests from nearby residents, which are likely if the site is located close to a built-up area.
It is believed the proposals will also include a shuttle bus service to link the complex to public transport services if the final site is located too far from existing transport links.
The complex will be financed through the sale of the Mountjoy and Dundrum sites, both 35-acre sites which will realise more than €100 million.
In May, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Tom Parlon, announced the Government's intention to sell Dundrum, which could realise upwards of €70 million alone.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Justice said he expected a report from the expert committee on the new site by next month and expected to bring proposals relating to the new prison to Cabinet in late September or early October.