This Friday is the closing date for objections to the disgraceful plan to demolish the historic old Cork prison site and to build two new prisons in the middle of a residential area in The Glen and surrounding areas. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are determined to strip away our history and destroy working class communities. They are using questionable legislation - a loophole - that means objections must be sent to Longford by post. I posted my objection last Friday and it still has not arrived. It took nearly a week for my objection on environmental grounds to arrive and by the time it had arrived, the closing date had passed.

Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to instruct the Irish Prison Service, IPS, so that any objection that arrives after the closing date of 3 July will be accepted?

I thank the Deputy.

The people of The Glen have enough with one prison. They do not deserve to have three prisons on the northside of Cork city.

The Deputy's time is up. I call the Taoiseach to respond.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising the issue. I am not clear as to why, if he posted it last Friday, it did not get there quicker, but in any event, there is a huge challenge with overcrowding at the moment. Colleagues in the Deputy's party have been raising the overcrowding issue with the Minister. The Minister is under huge pressure in terms of capacity constraints in our prisons and the resulting challenge faced by those who work in our prisons and so forth. He is endeavouring to do the very best he can in terms of providing additional spaces as quickly as he can. It is arising out of that pressure that the use is being made of that site.

Why not a greenfield site?

No, it does not work like that, Deputy. I thank the Taoiseach. His time is up. I call Deputy Graves.

The Taoiseach knows The Glen well. It is in the middle of the community.

The Deputy knows that the rules are the rules.