Home : About Us : Estates
Role of the Estates Directorate
Organisational Structure
Estates Directorate is headed by the Director of Estates who is supported by two Assistant Principal Officers, two Higher Executive Officers, one Executive Officer and three Clerical Officers. The Directorate is based at the IPS HQ in Longford. The Directorate also encompasses the Building Services Division (BSD) which operates from industrial premises in Santry. BSD provides a technical / advisory support service in relation to the maintenance of the prison facilities and prison capital projects. It also provides the specialist prison's locking service. Building Services Division is headed by the Governor In Charge of Works who reports to the Director of Estates and is assisted by two Deputy Governors and other support staff.
Principal Functions Of Estates Directorate:
Property Management
The Estates Directorate is responsible for the management of the various properties comprising the entire of the Prison Service estate.
Prison Maintenance Function
The management of the day to day maintenance of all prison facilities, sites and properties throughout the prisons estate is the responsibility of the Estates Directorate.
Administrative support for the Thornton Hall Project Board is, in the main, also provided by Estates staff.
Major Projects - Estates Capital Programme
Castlerea Remand and Segregation Unit (€21m)
The building is now at fit-out stage to include locking and security systems etc. This is expected to be completed by February 2009 when 105 additional spaces will be available. This is based upon doubling-up of a number of the cells which were designed to comfortably accommodate, if necessary, two prisoners.
Portlaoise "C" Block (€28m)
The main cell block building is now complete and has been handed over to the IPS. The provision of the visiting suite which will be in place by the end of the year is also underway. The fit-out is due to commence shortly and overall the facility with an additional 138 spaces should be ready for occupation by February/March 2009.
Wheatfield New Cell Block (€29m)
The block, along with ancillary facilities which will provide 144 (net) and 176 new build, spaces is on track for hand-over to the IPS by March/April next. Some additional facilities will be required to service the Block and these issues are being addressed at present. There will be some additional costs arising here. The earliest date for occupation and commissioning of the additional accommodation is May/June 2009.
Other Projects
Search/Screening Projects - the main programme is (with the exception of Wheatfield where a temporary building is in place) due for completion in the next week or so.
Castlerea - The final stage of development at Castlerea including the new Recreational Building, Exercise Yards and all-weather pitch is due for completion by March/April 2009.
Mobile Phone Inhibition - A pilot scheme of mobile phone inhibition in Midlands prison is practically complete and results to date are very encouraging. A further module of that pilot scheme which will see inhibition introduced to the new "C" Block at Portlaoise and the existing segregation unit there will get underway in late January 2009. Three other pilot schemes are at advanced stages of planning. These are in Limerick, Mountjoy and Cloverhill Prisons. Each of the four schemes uses different technology and when completed, a close tender process will be engaged in to select a service provider to introduce inhibition to all closed prisons.
Tetra Radio -: The Prison Service is a party to the National Emergency Services Digital Radio Service - known as TETRA. We have committed to introducing TETRA throughout the prison estate and for the P.S.E.C. by mid 2010 beginning with roll out to the Dublin prisons in March 2009.
CCTV - The Prison Service makes very extensive use of CCTV within the prisons for the purpose of controlling and managing prisoner movements and activities, ensuring safety of prisoners and staff and recording evidence when incidents do occur. The network of CCTV within prisons is very comprehensive but is, nevertheless, under constant review to ensure that optimum coverage is achieved and that the associated investment of capital yields a good return in terms of the coverage provided.
Video (Courts) Link - Video link facilities have been provided in Cloverhill, Portlaoise and Limerick Prisons. It is intended, over time, to install video link suites in all closed prisons. It is a costly process and roll out has been held back due to current budgetary circumstances and competing demands for available funds. The facilities have not yet been used in a court case in this jurisdiction but have been used to allow for the giving of evidence by prisoners in Ireland to courts in the UK.
The facilities in Cloverhill have been adapted to allow a small number of Dublin based legal firms to pay "virtual legal visits" to their clients by Videolink and this has been both very popular with the firms and their clients and very successful from a technological viewpoint. We expect to make the legal visit facility much more widely available over the course of 2009.
|
