Almost €160,000 spent on electricity connection for abandoned prison on Cork's northside

Almost €160,000 has been spent in four years on electricity for the abandoned former Cork Prison at the Glen on Cork’s northside.

A local TD said that, in 2021, promises were given that no more money would be spent on the site of the prison which closed in 2016. But it was recently confirmed that the site has now been earmarked for the development of an extension to the current Cork Prison.

The plans for the extension were announced earlier this year by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, as part of a wider project to deliver more than 1,500 new prison spaces in Ireland over the next five years.

When the Glen project is complete in 2031, there will be an additional 330 prison spaces for Cork.

In response to a parliamentary question last week, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan confirmed that, despite the former facility’s closure, the Irish Prison Service has maintained the electricity network connection for the abandoned Glen prison.

This was done, he said, in order to allow certain essential management systems to continue to operate, including water pumps, to protect the site from flooding.

Mr O’Callaghan revealed that, between 2021 and 2025, just under €160,000 was spent on the electrical connection, with a further €36,500 spent on conducting a feasibility study, with demolition works expected in the coming year.

However, speaking to The Echo, Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould said these figures represented “absolute proof that the people of the Glen and the northside cannot trust this Government”.

“We were told in 2021 there were no costs on the old Cork prison site,” said the Sinn Féin TD.

“Now, we have figures that show tens of thousands of euro spent on electricity on the abandoned site. This is beyond a joke.

“They are going to use more public money to demolish this historic site and even more again to build two new prisons.

“At the same time, almost €40,000 was spent on a feasibility study that was never published.”

He added that it was not known if the feasibility report recommended the new prison.

“It should be published, and the minister should clearly lay out the costs that have been incurred on this site,” he said.

Mr O’Callaghan said that, while the Cork project is still at an early stage, planning for the extension to the current prison 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,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“This intended approach will ensure efficiencies with the design and the practical operations of the new facility in parallel with the existing prison.”