A NEW €29m prison block has been lying idle for more than six months because the prison's kitchen facilities cannot cater for inmates of the existing jail and the new wing.

The new block of 176 cells at Wheatfield Prison in west Dublin was completed in late 2009 but has been forced to remain closed, despite overcrowding in the Irish penal system that has been described as "infinitely worse" than at any time in the past.

The lack of proper kitchen facilities means the new block cannot be put into use, even as authorities have been forced to free up to 800 prisoners on temporary release.

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has decided to replace the existing prison kitchen at Wheatfield with an entirely new facility that can cater for both the original jail and its new block.

However, until the construction of the new kitchen is completed, the new block will remain empty, despite prisoner numbers in the rest of the country's jails frequently rising above 4,000.

The new development was trumpeted repeatedly by justice minister Dermot Ahern last year.

In September 2009, he promised the new block would open within a matter of months and said it would be used to "alleviate" overcrowding.

Since then, prison officers have repeatedly warned that their safety is being compromised while two retiring prison governors have also been highly critical of the state, claiming the country's jails are frequently full to breaking point.

On one weekend highlighted by the Prison Officers' Association, Cork Prison held 326 inmates despite being designed for 168 while Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, with a capacity for 489, has at times held up to 700 prisoners.

A statement from the IPS confirmed the new block at Wheatfield had been finished "on schedule" late last year but that "fit-out and commissioning of the facility is still ongoing".

It said: "In addition to these works and in order to cater for the increased number of prisoners, the existing original prison kitchen is being replaced with a new facility.

"The new kitchen will comfortably cater for the overall increased prison population at Wheatfield when it is fully operational.

"The kitchen issue was identified in a scoping study carried out at the initial planning stage prior to the commencement of the project."

The IPS said the overall construction of the cell block had cost €29m and confirmed a further €7m would be spent on kitchen facilities, extended visiting areas, provision of medical facilities, and educational facilities.

It now hopes to have the new block open later this summer.