27 January 2005

PRESS RELEASE

Greens critical of Mountjoy relocation to greenfield site

Minister McDowell proposes to sell off Dundrum and city centre sites and to move institutions 15 kilometres out of town to rural location

The Green Party has heavily criticised the announcement by the Minister for Justice that the Government intends purchasing a 150-acre site in a rural location to house a prison and mental hospital. The Party says it would be far better to redevelop and refurbish the institutions on their existing sites rather than move them out of town.

Green Party Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said today that, “It is only a few years since a purpose built state-of-the-art women’s prison was opened in Mountjoy. This was supposed to be the start of a programme of refurbishment and rebuilding in the city centre location. I understand that the Office of Public Works had produced a masterplan for developing facilities on the existing site.”

“It just does not make sense to move these institutions out from the city to a location that is poorly served by public transport. It is also questionable to place a mental hospital in close proximity to a prison. 

“Mountjoy is close to the Courts, to hospitals, to the Gardai, and is easily accessible for those visiting. The Dundrum Mental Hospital is also close to facilities including the new Luas line. Institutions should be close to the people that they serve, rather than consigned to a rural location.”

“I am calling on the Minister to publish the list of alternative sites that he looked at, and to produce an analysis to show that this proposal makes sense on either social, economic or environmental grounds. It is bad planning and the decision should be reversed,” concluded Deputy Cuffe.