The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has criticised an RTÉ Prime Time report on the purchase of the site for a new prison to replace Mountjoy for what he said was its selective use of information.
Mr McDowell said that no attempt had been made to explain that the site at Thornton Hall in Dublin was a third cheaper per acre than an alternative location. The Government paid €30 million for the 150 acre site at Thornton Hall.
He also criticised the makers of last night's programme for furnishing his department with questions yesterday afternoon, at a time when he said it was evident that the report was already 'in the can'.
The Minister told the Dáil that programme makers at RTÉ were bound to be impartial in the handling of current affairs, adding that the report was what he called a sorry departure from those standards.
He said that he would be raising the issue with the RTÉ Authority.
