Mr. Brian Purcell:

To some extent hiring more people does not necessarily deal with the overtime problem. I know the point the Deputy is making and on a very basic level if one has X number of staff and Y budget, X plus 100 staff reduces the overall costs if one gets them in that way. What one has in these circumstances is that one ends up with additional staff. To be honest, given the nature of the work within the prison system and the fact that it is 24-7, there are advantages in having facilities to cover particular peaks and valleys. One has a more flexible system. if one goes down the route of getting in additional staff, one loses some of the flexibilities that are required. The reality is in the circumstances we find ourselves in, one certainly would not be looking at recruiting extra staff.