Conflicting figures on super-prison costs

FERGUS FINLAY’S excellent column (Irish Examiner, July 4) exposing the bloated and unaccountable costs of Michael McDowell’s super-prison plan has provoked some interesting responses from officialdom.

On July 10, the minister issued a press release claiming the annual cost per prisoner in the new super-prison would be €30,000 a year less than the current Prison Service average cited by Mr Finlay.

What does the Prison Service have to say about that? On the day after the minister’s press release, the Prison Service press officer stated in a letter to the Irish Examiner that the savings would be more like €20,000 per prisoner.