€100m and 100 acres: jail to hold 1,000

DUBLIN’S new prison will be five-times the size of Mountjoy and will cater for 1,000 inmates.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell is planning a massive prison on a 100-acre site in the greater Dublin area.

Costing an estimated €100 million, the prison site will be bigger than an 18-hole golf course and five-times the size of all four Mountjoy units put together. The cost of the building will be offset by the sale of the 20-acre North Circular Road site, which is expected to fetch over €40m.