New Government resurrects Thornton Hall super-prison to tackle overcrowded Laois jails

A shelved plan to build a super prison in Dublin is in the new draft programme for Government.

The construction of new prison at Thorton Hall in north Co Dublin is the first action committed to in 'Securing Ireland's Future' which has been agreed upon by in the draft programme Fianna Fáil / Fine Gael and independent programme for Government.

More than €50 million has already been spent on the 165-acre Thornton Hall site, though plans to build a large prison had all but been abandoned with the bulk of the site offered to the State's house-building body in 2019.

The form minister for justice Michael McDowell oversaw the purchase of the 150-acre site for €30 million in 2005. This was said to be eight times higher than the market rate. Originally intended as a prison that could accommodate 2,200 inmates, the plan was later scaled back to 700 capacity.

A plan for the Central Mental Hospital to be located there was binned and the entire project was shelved. The site is currently being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

The outgoing Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said last April that her department is considering whether or not to build a new prison at Thornton Hall in north county Dublin to deal with chronic overcrowding in the country's jails. She said €50 million was earmarked for more prison places this year.

The new Government programme commits to the prison which continues to be championed by Michael McDowell who is seeking reelection to the senate to represent university graduates.

"Construct a new prison at Thornton Hall, expand existing prison capacity by 1,500 spaces and consider the need for a new Women’s Open Prison," said the document.

There is no timescale for the building of the new prison in the draft programme.

Overall the draft programme says providing adequate prison capacity "is essential" for ensuring public safety, facilitating rehabilitation, and addressing the needs of individuals within the justice system.

The Government programme also commits to recruiting more prison officers for jails in Portlaoise and elsewhere.

The following is what the new coalition Government says it "will" do over the next five years:

• Construct a new prison at Thornton Hall, expand existing prison capacity by 1,500 spaces and consider the need for a new Women’s Open Prison. 
• Recruit additional prison officers to support our expanding prison estate.
• Implement electronic tagging for appropriate categories of prisoner.
• Implement electronic warrants and fully digitalise the system of recording sentences and release dates.
• Enact legislation to establish minimum tariffs for any crime that carries a life sentence.
• Introduce advanced x-ray body scanners for visitors to our prisons.
• Reform the operation of Prison Visiting Committees.
• Implement an employment strategy for former offenders and support increased access to education and training

  workshops through the Prison Education Taskforce.

• Establish a high-dependency unit in the Irish Prison Service to address severe mental health and addiction challenges

  and hire more therapeutic and medical staff, including psychiatric nurses.

• Implement recommendations on the Taskforce on Mental Health and Addiction and publish an annual

  progress report. 

• Continue to roll out nationally the voluntary restorative justice programme
• Enact the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill to enable ratification of the UN Optional Protocol to UN Convention

  on Torture (OPCAT).