Ahern Opens New Block At Portlaoise Prison

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform Mr. Dermot Ahern T.D. has opened a new block in Portlaoise Prison which can accommodate 200 prisoners.

The new accommodation block includes 60 double cells and 75 single cells with in-cell sanitation plus a three single cell area for vulnerable prisoners. This has increased the overall capacity of the prison to 300.

Speaking at the opening of 'C' Block, the Minister said: "The provision of these facilities represents just one aspect of the major prisons capital program funded by the Government. This new block in Portlaoise is part of an investment program in additional prison places being rolled out this year.

"Along with the increased accommodation the new block also includes an Education Unit and a new Library. Developments in the prison system are not solely confined to improving the prisoner accommodation facilities. The Prison Service is committed to the development and improvement of the rehabilitation programs in place for offenders in a way which encourages and supports them in living law abiding and purposeful lives as members of society."  

In addition to the new block at Portlaoise, current prison developments will provide a potential 250 further prison spaces by the end of this year by means of a block in Wheatfield Prison which will accommodate approximately 200 prisoners and a refurbished Separation Unit in Mountjoy which will provide an additional 50 spaces.

It is anticipated that these additional spaces will assist the Irish Prison Service in alleviating current pressure on numbers across the prison system.

The Minister also reconfirmed the Government's commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, Co. Dublin. The revised plans for Thornton Hall prison aim to protect the taxpayers' interests while, at the same time, providing modern, regime focused and operationally efficient accommodation to replace the Mountjoy prison complex in the shortest possible timeframe.

It is intended that the new prison will be built on a phased basis. Phase one involves the provision of essential preliminary work required to facilitate the development such as the construction of a dedicated access route, services and perimeter wall.

The preliminary works in phase one of the project will be procured on the basis of separate contracts to the main prison development. Work is expected to start on this phase early next year.  

It is expected that an EU wide tender competition for the main prison buildings will be launched next year. The objective is to complete the procurement process for the main prison buildings while the construction of phase one is underway thus enabling construction of the main prison buildings to commence immediately after contract award.  

The construction of the prison will take approximately three years. The new prison at Thornton will have a capacity of 1,400 in single occupancy cells but with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200 prisoners, thus future proofing the development.