Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

I welcome the Minister's publication of the report and the considerable discussion on this crucial issue in recent days. As the Minister stated, 72% of prisoner accommodation has in-cell sanitation, which means that 28% does not. The Minister was not in government, but we now recognise that this has been a problem since the mid-1990s. Making people in overcrowded conditions slop out every morning is a clear violation of basic human rights.

I note the Minister's comments about the pilot scheme under way in Mountjoy Prison, but the practice is continuing in Limerick and Cork. I might have misheard, but no definite date for the work's completion was given. There has been some inching forward. It cannot happen overnight, but we need a timeframe in respect of the three prisons primarily affected by this issue. Measures have been suggested that could alleviate the effects of slopping out in the short term, including toilet patrols during the night and so on. This would be an important step.

I am glad the Minister has initiated a review of Thornton Hall, which has already been a significant waste of public money. We will see what its outcome will be. The solution lies in legislation that views imprisonment as a last resort, not in doubling or trebling prison spaces, a practice that must end. I look forward to seeing the report in July.

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