Multi-million new prison wagon fleet in pipeline for jails in Laois and elsewhere

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is inviting vehicle providers to bid for a contract worth an estimated €10 million to supply a new fleet of prison wagons for transporting prisoners to and from jails in Laios and elsewhere.

However, inflation doesn't seem to be having an impact on how many vans the service can buy, as the budget has not changed since the service last invested.

The IPS has published tenders seen by the Leinster Express / Laois Live inviting companies to supply vehicles that can accommodate two, six and 12 prisoners.

The service wants 39 of the two-cell vehicles, 19 six-cell vans and five 12-cell wagons for services provided to jails in Portlaoise and other parts of Ireland. MORE BELOW PHOTO.

Prison wagon parked on Main St in Portlaoise.

"The Contracting Authority estimates that the expenditure on the Goods to be covered by the proposed Goods Contract may amount to some €10 mill (excl. VAT) over the Term and any possible extensions. Tenderers must understand that this figure is an estimate only based on current and future expected usage," said the company.

The service previously invited firms to bid for a contract to supply 43 vehicles over four years in 2021. At the time, the service wants to buy 24 two-cell vehicles, 12 six-cell vehicles and seven 12-cell vans. At the time, the service estimated spending €10 m.

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The Prison Service Escorts Corps (PSEC) was established in 2005  to provide a prisoner escorting service. The PSEC is a dedicated corps of staff whose task is, to escort prisoners to and from court and to other scheduled and necessary engagements in the community. ie. hospital appointments.

The IPS website says the Corps includes 58 cellular vehicles of varying capacity, which enables the secure transport of prisoners of all security categories throughout the State. The staff also man the dock in courts throughout the country and specialise in providing a highly efficient service as a support to prison operations.

The former Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told the Dáil in 2023 that the annual maintenance cost of prison vehicles was €1,150,000 for that year.