Super-prison contract delayed until end of year

THE possibility of signing a contract for the Thornton Hall prison complex has officially been put back to the end of the year.

And there are indications this could prove to be ambitious, with suggestions that negotiations with the preferred bidder may not prove to be successful. In that case, the state, which is facing a worsening prison overcrowding problem, will have to start fresh negotiations with other bidders.

The “super prison” has been beset by controversy, not least the e41 million which has already been spent on it, including e30m on the original site in north Dublin. The prison will not now be ready, at the earliest, until 2013, at least two years late. Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has revealed the contract would not be signed until later this year.

“While negotiations on the contract are at an advanced stage they have not yet been completed to the point that the project agreement can be signed. I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that it is anticipated that it will not be possible to have a contract signed until later this year,” he said.

“Construction will commence immediately after contract award and should take no more than three years. This timeframe is subject... to the successful completion of the contract negotiations. I can say, however, that if the current contract negotiations are not successfully concluded there are other tenderers and other options which can still be considered.”

Leargas, a consortium, which includes developer Michael McNamara and Co, Barclays and GSL, an international prison operator, was selected to build the prison more than a year ago. It is understood the consortium has had considerable difficulty in raising funding for the project. Mr Ahern said the Irish Prison Service and the National Development Finance Agency was trying to progress the negotiation phase of the PPP (public-private partnership). He said it would not be appropriate to provide details as to the likely costs of the construction of the prison.

He said the cost of the acquisition of the site was e29.9m and an additional 8.7 acres was also acquired to provide a dedicated access road. “This was done following representations from the local community, which reflected concern in relation to the effect of increased traffic generated by the prison project. The cost of this additional land was e1.3m,” said Mr Ahern.

He said e10.4m had been spent on preliminary site works and professional fees.

“The Thornton Hall project is a complex public-private partnership... Additional matters have had to be addressed following the extensive public consultation involving the publication of the Environmental Impact Assessment and consideration of the development by the Oireachtas.”