Rónán Mullen (Independent)

President McAleese has paid tribute to the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas, which was established by Irish Catholic bishops in 1985 and which is celebrating 25 years of good work in supporting overseas prisoners, advising them on issues such as repatriation and deportation, and helping to make referrals to post-release support agencies. I am waiting and hoping to take part in the continuation of the debate about overcrowding in Irish prisons. There is a need for further discussion about how we treat prisoners.

It is interesting that the former governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan, has been critical of the Irish Prison Service with regard to its handling of the release of Larry Murphy last August. Larry Murphy may be a person with whom nobody here would sympathise, but it is undoubtedly the case that when it comes to the treatment of prisoners, we should favour a system that is not just punitive but also focuses on rehabilitation. One of the main problems in the case of Larry Murphy was that it was not mandatory for people to take part in treatment programmes to deal with their criminality and their attitudes. Such participation should be made mandatory, and we should incentivise prisoners by linking early release with their having satisfied certain requirements with regard to attending treatment and coming to terms with what they have done.

I noticed that in the Minister's speech last week there were no references to restorative justice, on which I would like to put the focus at the next opportunity. I ask the Minister to indicate whether it is the Government's intention to bring forward a prison system that will not only justly punish but also seek the rehabilitation of offenders.