Thornton project to be scaled down

The Government has approved, in principle, plans to build a new prison at Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin.

The Department of Justice confirmed this afternoon that recommendations contained in a report it commissioned in April to build the prison have been accepted "in principle" by the Government.

The Thornton Hall review group recommended a new scaled-down prison with 300 cells capable of accommodating 500 prisoners be developed at the Kilsallaghan site in north Co Dublin.

The previous government had planned for a 2,200-bed prison at the 140-acre greenfield site.

The site was bought for almost €30 million at the height of the property boom. Fees for professional work, consultancy and site works have brought the bill for the prison up to almost €45 million so far.

The report recommends that Cork Prison be closed at the earliest possible opportunity. A new prison will be developed at Kilworth, Co Cork, with 200 cells capable of accommodating up to 350 prisoners.

The review group also called for "decisive action" to address overcrowding and poor physical conditions, particularly in Mountjoy and Cork prisons. It also called for an improvement in prison regimes and stresses the need for in-cell sanitation.

Welcoming the report, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said the timeframe for the Thornton Hall and Kilworth Prisons projects as outlined in the report will be discussed in the Autumn in the context of the Government's discussions on capital spending priorities for 2012.

The report also recommends that each prison should have a secure open centre regime within the prison walls in order to facilitate the rehabilitation of prisoners.

"This objective requires managing safely and purposefully the transition of offenders from committal to a prison cell to eventual release into the community," Mr Shatter said.

The review also identifies steps the group said should be taken to reduce the prisoner population.

A combination of so-called "front-door and back-door strategies" would involve giving the courts the power to impose a wider range of non-custodial sanctions as well as early temporary release coupled with a requirement to do community service.

A further recommendation includes the introduction of a home detention system in appropriate cases.