Thomas Gould
Question:757. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the progress of the works on the site of the Old Cork Prison to develop the proposed new prison. [37810/26]
View answerTuesday, 19 May 2026
Questions (757, 756, 758, 759, 760, 761)
Thomas Gould
Question:756. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether planning permission is needed for the construction or expansion of a prison. [37809/26]
View answerThomas Gould
Question:758. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Irish Prison Service has informed him of commitments made to the people of the Glen prior to the opening of the new Cork prison site. [37811/26]
View answerThomas Gould
Question:759. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the estimated cost of the proposed prison on the Glen. [37812/26]
View answerThomas Gould
Question:760. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the proposed women's prison in the Glen will be co-located or will operate as a separate facility. [37813/26]
View answerThomas Gould
Question:761. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the overall spend in each of the past five years on the Old Cork Prison site respectively, in tabular form. [37814/26]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 757, 756, 758, 759, 760 and 761 together.
I am acutely aware of the capacity constraints in our prisons and the challenges faced by those who work and live in our prisons as a result. Since 2024, 232 spaces have been constructed across the Prison Estate, with 126 delivered in 2024 and 106 in 2025. There are plans to build another 65 spaces in 2026. In addition, Government has allocated funding for a significant building programme across the prison estate.
I have secured a record capital investment of €528 million for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) over the next 5 years, of which €495 million will be invested to deliver one of the most significant capital building programmes in the justice sector, with an overall target of delivering over 1,500 prison spaces by 2031. This building programme will include a large extension to the existing Cork Prison on the site of the old, decommissioned Cork Prison in the Glen area.
I have also sought and secured an exemption from the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for 6 projects (960 prison spaces) to move straight to Approval Gate 2 – Pre Tender Approval of the Infrastructure Guidelines, a measure which is expected to speed up the delivery of these projects by 12 to 18 months. It also frees up capacity within Irish Prison Service (IPS) to progress projects.
The proposed project for the extension to the existing Cork Prison is a part of this accelerated delivery programme, and while it is still at an early stage, planning for the extension of the Cork Prison project is continuing. The facility on the old decommissioned Cork Prison site will be a large extension of the existing prison and will provide prison spaces for approximately 100 women and 230 men. This intended approach will ensure efficiencies with the design and the practical operations of the new facility in parallel with the existing prison.
A feasibility study was carried out in 2024 on the Old Cork Prison with a consultancy cost of €36,556.83 (VAT Inclusive figure). Demolition works are planned for the coming year with completion expected in 2031.
As regards other costs, the former Cork Prison ceased to operate as an operational prison in February 2016 following the opening of a new facility on a site immediately adjacent to the old prison. Once operations were transferred to the new facility, the former prison facility was closed and decommissioned.
Despite the closure of the old Cork Prison, the Irish Prison Service has maintained the electricity network connection in order to allow certain essential management systems to continue to operate such as water pumps which protect the site from flooding.
The overall costs for electrical supply to the old Cork prison are set out in the table below:
|
YEAR |
ELECTRICITY COST (€) |
|
2021 |
41,800.47 |
|
2022 |
36,404.63 |
|
2023 |
30,719.84 |
|
2024 |
38,643.53 |
|
2025 |
11,779.30 |
Following the closure, there was interest expressed locally in using the site for community use, however, I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that no formal proposal was submitted for consideration.
As the projects planning process commences with relevant authorities there will be stakeholder engagement as part of the overall planning process and regular communication to the Department on progress of the project as per previous builds, such as the current New Cork Prison site.
Question No. 758 answered with Question No. 757.
Question No. 759 answered with Question No. 757.
Question No. 760 answered with Question No. 757.
Question No. 761 answered with Question No. 757.