Questions over €250,000 kitchen sold for €14,000

THE Public Accounts Committee will be asked to investigate the knock-down sale of a prison kitchen to a private company following the prison’s closure.

The industrial kitchen, estimated to cost as much as €250,000, was installed in Fort Mitchel prison on Spike Island in Cork in 2002 as part of a €3.5 million revamp of the entire facility, funded by the taxpayer.

The kitchen included large ovens, walk-in fridges, dish-washers, vast preparation surfaces and fittings.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member and Green Party TD Dan Boyle said the kitchen could have cost in the region of six figures.

But it emerged yesterday that it was sold to a private company last year — two years after the prison was shut down — for just €14,000.

The PAC established the exact sale amount after questioning the Department of Justice before Christmas.

Department secretary Sean Aylward, told the PAC that following the Government’s decision to close Spike, all of its equipment and furniture was examined to identify what could be used in other prisons.

“Following on from this, certain items were transferred to other prisons,” he wrote. “The Irish Prison Service engaged the services of CCM Property Services in Middleton [sic], Co Cork, to dispose of equipment at public auction.

“As it was not cost effective to have the kitchen dismantled and brought to auction for sale, a purchaser was identified through CCM Property Services.

“Kitchen equipment and fittings were sold to Foodequip Technology Ltd who dismantled part of the kitchen and bore the cost of transporting the equipment off the island. This kitchen equipment realised €14,000.”

Mr Boyle said the department’s handling of the sale raised many questions.

“The department and the Irish Prison Service need to answer questions on how much the kitchen fittings in the 2002 development cost,” he said.

“It can only be assumed that it was a significant six- figure sum, and certainly far in excess of the €14,000 that the fittings were eventually sold for.

“Only a value-for-money report will get appropriate answers to this question and investigate how similar misjudgements may have been made after Fort Mitchel was closed.

Foodequip Technology, based in Cork, yesterday defended their purchase of the equipment. Managing director John O’Shea said there was a lot of work involved in the dismantling and transport of the equipment, some of which has been sold on.

“Everything was above board,” he said.

But he declined to discuss how be became aware that the kitchen was being sold.

Meanwhile, it appears as if plans to build a super-prison on Spike may be scrapped with the Government now examining an alternative prison site at Kilworth.