Residents warn over proposed prison

Residents angered by the proposed new prison complex in north Dublin have begun a legal challenge against the plans.

A solicitors' letter sent to the Ministers for Justice and Finance has warned that unless the project is stalled, pending consultations with the community, court proceedings will be initiated.

Dublin solicitors Lawlor & O'Reilly said they were taking the case on behalf of an unnamed local woman, and were unaware whether she would be joined in the action by others, or whether the community would mount a separate challenge.

But a spokesman for the firm, Mr Ciarán Lawlor, said he lived in the area himself, had attended part of a protest meeting held last week, and shared the protesters' feelings about the proposed complex. He said his client would argue that the Thornton development represented a breach of her rights under the Constitution and under the European Convention of Human Rights.

Other issues were "the price paid for and method of acquisition of the site, and what would appear to be a departure from, or perhaps a breach of, the normal procurement procedures".