Overcrowding in prisons set to continue

THE decision not to go ahead with Thornton Hall — again — is the latest chapter in what has been a sorry affair.

To date €48 million has been spent on the project, an amount the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has described as “scandalous”.

The 38-acre site in north Co Dublin will remain idle for at least a year, with the only development being the mounting security bill to protect it.