FG says McDowell paid €24m too much for jail site

The Government has paid five times the going rate for the 150-acre site for a new prison in north Dublin, Fine Gael claimed today.

The site - which is at Thorntown, just off the N2 south of Ashbourne - was purchased at a cost of €29.9 million. It will house replacements for Mountjoy Prison and the Cental Mental Hospital.

Fine Gael's justice spokesman, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, today described this as an "outrageous price" and accused the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell of a "gross mismanagement" of State funds.

He claimed property experts familiar with the area, which is on the Meath-Dublin border, are "stunned" that Mr McDowell could pay so much for land.

He said the maximum price for farmland in the area is €20,000 per acre, giving the 150 acres a value of €3 million. The commercial value of this land, including hope value, is around €40,000 per acre, translating to a total of €6 million.

"However, for some reason best known to himself, the Minister paid a grand total of €30 million, about €200,000 per acre," Mr O'Keeffe said. "He must now explain why he paid €24 million too much."

"By paying well in excess of the market value of this land, the Minister has also set a dangerous precedent. The price paid for this land will have consequences for the price to be paid in future by the State, and in particular by the National Roads Authority when it comes to acquiring land for new roads.

"I want the Minister to clarify whether the State is contractually bound by the deal. To bring this deal to a closure would be grossly foolhardy on the Minister's part and shows a massive dearth of business acumen."

Mr O'Keeffe also demanded an explanation from Mr McDowell why he did not issue Compulsive Purchase Orders on sites or invite tenders from other landowners in the Dublin/Meath border area.

The Department of Justice has insisted the land was chosen as the most suitable of 30 different possible sites for the new prison complex and the Thorntown land was the cheapest of five sites in the area.