Cost of new prison site rises by €8.5m

The €30m site purchased for the new Mountjoy prison will cost the taxpayer another €8.5m to equip with water, gas and sewage services, it emerged today.

The Department of Justice is planning to build a new prison complex on a 150-acre greenfield site in Thorntown in North Dublin by 2008 when the antiquated Mountjoy prison will close.