If the Taoiseach keeps this up, he can be his own warm-up man for the jamboree at the weekend.

Yesterday I asked, and the Taoiseach refused to answer, how many tens of millions of euro of taxpayers' money will be bestowed on the lads from the tent at the Galway Races to build private hospitals on the public grounds of our existing hospitals. This morning, I would like to raise another public expenditure decision, related to the subject matter of a parliamentary question on 22 February, where the questioners were advised that it was expected to identify the preferred bidder for the prison at Thornton Hall by the end of February 2007. Was the preferred bidder identified by the end of February, as pledged, and will the Taoiseach tell us who it is?

How does he propose to protect taxpayers' money in the contract, given the record on this site? The Comptroller and Auditor General, in his report for the year 2005, published in September 2006, deplored the manner of purchase of the lands at Thornton Hall and said that at least twice the market value was paid for them. He went on to say: "In the circumstances, a well managed, confidential, third party approach might have allowed the Prison Service to procure suitable land at a much lower price than was paid for the land at Thornton."

Mr. Purcell, although working in the abstract, turned out to be right. At the weekend we learned that the adjacent site, which was inspected by the perceptive Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, at the time as a possible alternative, was sold recently for €100,000 per acre, whereas the Minister paid €200,000 per acre for the site at Thornton Hall. This is the man who lectures those on this side of the House on economics and hard decision taking. They say a fool and his money is easily parted but the Minister is no fool and the money he was parted from was taxpayers' money doled out in the most foolish purchase because, as the Comptroller and Auditor General said, they saw him coming. Imagine putting it around that one had €30 million to spend and asking if anyone could come up with a site. What does he expect in those circumstances? This is the most profligate waste of taxpayers' money by a blundering Minister that rivals——

Deputy, your time has concluded.

——anything Deputy Kenny has instanced about the other decisions on which the Taoiseach wasted so much money during the lifetime of this Government. What guarantees can the Taoiseach give the taxpayer that this pattern on the Thornton Hall project will not continue? I notice the Minister forgot to factor in an access to the site. The Lord knows how much he will pay for the roadway in because they know he is coming now. He appears to be an easy touch but he is paying with taxpayers' money, yet the Taoiseach boasts about the progress made on the prisons. This is a laughable decision by an incompetent Government.

That is Deputy Rabbitte's view.

It is the Comptroller and Auditor General's view.

Some will say it is the common view.

The Government's view is that we wanted to build a modern prison that had all the facilities unlike some of our prisons that have deplorable facilities and bad sanitary facilities, which have been highlighted in the yearly reports from the prison inspectorate. We wanted to build a state-of-the-art prison on a large site that could accommodate a large prison, with all the ancillary facilities, on the outskirts of the city. A number of sites were checked. This site was sourced. The contracts were prepared. Deputy Rabbitte said we should not have made public the figure. When we were dealing with the metro a few weeks ago Deputy Rabbitte demanded of me that we should make public the figure. He now says we should not have made public the figure. In the other case he wanted the figures published. It is an inconsistency in his argument. The Government's position is that we want to build a modern prison on a substantive site that has all the facilities for prisoners in the 21st century, with proper security and access. Controversies will always arise when a prison is being built although having been involved in a different Ministry some years ago when the prison in Castlerea was opened, people were glad of a prison in their area from an employment and security point of view. This is the site we opted for and the one on which we will build a prison. That is the Government's position.

It is not my view. It is the view of the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is the view of experts who saw the sale of the adjacent site at the weekend. It is not akin to Castlerea. If the Taoiseach believes the people at Killsallaghan have the same view as the people of Castlerea, he should make one of his flying visits to the area. He moves around the country faster than the MRSA bug. The Taoiseach claims to defend this decision, which is such a manifest waste of money he can send out his very sincere Minister for Social and Family Affairs yesterday to lecture this side of the House on public expenditure decisions. This is the same Minister, Deputy Seamus Brennan, who went to Cork and told the people he would give them an airport debt free.

They are still waiting.

This is the same Minister who said Mary Robinson would not be right for the Park——

This is the same Minister who——

This is the same Minister who delivered social welfare——

Minister, allow Deputy Rabbitte to speak. Deputy Rabbitte, your time has concluded.

——because it would cause a flight of capital. This is the same Minister, Deputy Seamus Brennan, who was the architect of the 1977 package of proposals and who puts on his very sincere face and tells the Opposition that their proposals will cost too much. I wonder in that instance what he thinks of the proposals of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell——

Deputy Rabbitte, your time has concluded.

He is the Minister who delivered for pensioners.

Minister, allow Deputy Rabbitte to conclude.

——who promised to spend €6.8 billion at his party conference. The Taoiseach is in no position to lecture about value for money and waste of public money when he stands over a decision like Thornton Hall. It has been a waste of money. It did not meet valuation criteria. It was embarked on in the manner that has been rigorously criticised not by me but by the Comptroller and Auditor General, yet the Taoiseach tells this House and says he wants a leading prison. So what? Why did he not buy one or build one and get value for money rather than giving away tens of millions of taxpayers' money in this fashion that has been indicted by people who know what they are talking about? The adjacent site sold for half of the value. The Comptroller and Auditor General said the evaluation criteria was not followed and now we are stuck with it.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has given full documents and details to the Comptroller and Auditor General and I will not go into that debate here. I should have said to Deputy Rabbitte that the evaluation has been completed and I understand the preferred bidder will be announced by Easter. We required a modern, stand alone large prison on a secure site that had adequate facilities.

With no road access.

Deputy Burton, you are not the leader of your party. I ask you to allow your leader to hear the answer.

That was the priority of Government.

The dearest farm in Europe.

It is the same old story with the Opposition. They criticise existing facilities but we are trying to improve the lot of unfortunate people in society who require proper facilities when they are incarcerated. That is a fair approach.

They are a crowd of wasters.

I ask the Minister to allow the Taoiseach to answer without interruption.

The issues of planning, design and all of those matters will be resolved as is always the case. To continue having prisons in confined sites is not a good idea.

That is not what we are saying.

What sites?

In sites like the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum——

That is an enormous site.

——and Mountjoy. I am talking about sites that are ancient and where it is not possible to turn them into modern facilities for people.

Why did the Taoiseach waste €30 million?

I am surprised at the members of the Labour Party. If my colleague, Deputy Joe Costello, who is the leader of the prisoners' rights organisation, were here he would be appalled to hear the Labour Party Members opposing prisons.

The Taoiseach is getting his local campaign going.

In fairness to him he has been consistent. He always wanted them all out, but I want to put them in good facilities.

The Taoiseach wants them all in.

They would be all out if the Government did not build unconfined prisons.

It is unreasonable of the Labour Party not to want to provide proper facilities.

They would let them all out.

I want to put them into decent facilities and not do what Deputy Costello wanted or what the Labour Party is calling for now, which is to keep them in facilities that are 150 or 200 years old.

The women's prison was built only a decade ago.

I call Deputy Ó Caoláin.

So now we will have prisons that are not confined.

When those opposite were in power they were all walking out the doors.

Sorry, Deputy Rabbitte, you asked your question. Deputy Ó Caoláin, without interruption.