The State has spent more than €1.3 million on a small strip of land at the proposed prison site at Thornton Hall in north Dublin.
The 8.7-acre area of land, which cost €150,000 an acre, was bought to provide a second access route to the site after requests by local residents. The Thornton Hall site was purchased for €30 million, which represents €200,000 an acre, two years ago.
In March, a 120-acre site at nearby Corrstown that had been shortlisted for the prison was sold for €100,000 an acre. It had been ruled out because of poor road access to the site.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said the existing access road at Thornton Hall was suitable, but his department wished to respond to the concerns of local residents. He was speaking in a reply to a Dáil question from Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee.
"In addition to addressing the perceived concerns of local residents in relation to the existing access road, it was recognised that a separate designated access to the site would greatly facilitate the construction phase of the development as well as removing all future traffic generated by the prison complex from the existing road," Mr Lenihan said.
He said he expected to receive the environmental impact assessment for the proposed development at the end of this month or in early November.
The site has been dogged by controversy and there has been strong local opposition to the development. In recent weeks, Brian Purcell, director general of the Prisons Service, wrote to local residents at the request of Mr Lenihan to update them on developments.
He said the legal challenges to the development had meant that the Prison Service was only able to engage in a "limited form of consultation" with local groups.
"We are now at the point where a more comprehensive engagement process can begin shortly," Mr Purcell wrote. In August, an action by a local resident to prevent the construction of the prison was dismissed by the High Court. Mr Purcell wrote that a preferred bidder had been selected to develop the prison project and "detailed discussions" were under way to finalise agreements on the design.
This week, campaigners again called on the Government to rethink plans to move the Central Mental Hospital to the site, after it emerged that project would need rezoning and planning permission. The prison is exempt from the normal planning permission rules but the hospital is not.
Some local politicians have suggested that they will vote against the hospital project if it comes before Fingal County Council.
