Yes to Prison development on "most expensive farm in Europe"

[code twinkle]

Thornton Hall has been given the go ahead to be developed as prison site. The site has been acknowledged as utterly inadequate for its purpose, will be hugely difficult to access, has been very controversial and strongly resisted among the local population (farmers), was not listed in the original 30-long short-list drawn up after the project was publicly tendered, was bought at a hugely inflated price at a great loss to the state's coffers in a deal that stinks to hell. New Minister for Justice, Dermot Ahern has authorised its go ahead. Any thoughts?

[bagel]

who benefits?
developers?
recipients of brown envelopes?
something stinks here, and its not prisoners slopping out

[code twinkle]

it was on mcdowell's say-so and was under investigation by the centre for public inquiry when that centre was shut down by...well, mcdowell. it was bought in 8 days altho had normal practice been followed, engineers should have spent 3 months doing a thorough analysis of the site's suitability. it is truly dodgy.

[bagel]

so much for a NEW ff under brian cowen;
there's no money to build a new hospital in the neighbouring county so the new taoiseach should have put a stop to this travesty of another rip-off of the tax payer

[HanleyS]

Looks in poor shape for agricultural use.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.47007 ... &t=h&hl=en

[spalpeen]

This featured in the Primetime Investigates program of May 2005
"The Money Pit"
Mike Milotte investigates the allocation of public funds
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0509/primetime.html

The part about Thornton Hall is at the start (1:15 to 7:20)
Would recommend watching the whole program as its an eye-opener and reminder of what is actually going on with our Tax Euro's
The whole program actually covers a lot of other areas that i feel will be revisited in regards to waste of Public Money over the coming months
Battle of the Boyne site also..
didn't someone get a finders fee for that one as reported in one of the better threads on this site in the past week

[Rahood]

We as tax payers paid 200k per acre when the going rate was 15k per acre. I guess a few people done well for themselves out of that deal

[bagel]

We as tax payers paid 200k per acre when the going rate was 15k per acre. I guess a few people done well for themselves out of that deal

therefore the need for an investigation/enquiry;

[DUBABROAD]

Pardon my ignorance re the political process, but is it possible for the opposition to raise this as a direct question in the dail? or have they done so already?
A lack of action to something that smells as fishy of this lends credence to the ' they rell the same' school of thought

[bagel]

Pardon my ignorance re the political process, but is it possible for the opposition to raise this as a direct question in the dail? or have they done so already?
A lack of action to something that smells as fishy of this lends credence to the ' they rell the same' school of thought

there isn't an opposition since joe higgins lost his seat