The Prison Service headquarters is to move from Dublin to Longford within two years as part of the Government's decentralisation programme.
The Minister for Justice said yesterday new headquarters would be built on a six-acre site on the Ballinalee Road in Longford. "Construction work is expected to commence before the end of the summer, and the target is to have a fully fitted-out headquarters ready to occupy by the end of next year, with staff moving in at the beginning of 2007," Mr McDowell said.
The decentralisation of the service was announced last year. Its 150 headquarters staff administer 16 penal institutions, about 3,500 employees and a budget of €200,000.
Many staff had relocated to Clondalkin four years ago when the office was set up and did not want to move again.
The Prison Service is now promoting Longford as a thriving town of 10,000 people with modern facilities and far cheaper house prices than in Dublin.
Prison Service spokesman Jim Mitchell said a number of people had expressed an interest. "It's very hard to get a precise number but if you're looking at all of the Department of Justice, there are about 80 people," he said.