Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and Deputy Mac Lochlainn for their comments. I very much value members of this committee visiting our prisons. At this stage I think I have visited all the prisons in the State and done so quietly without any media palaver. I thought it was important that I meet all our governors and have an opportunity to see conditions. I took the opportunity to talk to some prisoners when I visited the prisons and many of those working in the Prison Service.

Without a doubt we had to do something about Cork Prison. It is a great pity that at a time when the State was more flathulach with money this development did not occur at least ten years ago but, nevertheless, I very much value the support of the committee in what we are doing. We are very conscious of concerns of residents. That is the reason we have responded in the way we have and the reason we will have in place a senior official to engage in liaison with the residents if issues arise during the construction phase. The purpose of building the outer perimeter first is to ensure that once it is constructed, the internal construction works have as little impact on local residents as is possible. I am happy to say to the committee, and particularly to Deputy Mac Lochlainn who raised the issue, that we will maintain that liaison and try to maintain good relations. I am conscious that when a new building of this nature is being constructed there is always some local concern. The reality is that this will be a much better facility than the current one. It will provide greater security as opposed to lesser security.

In the context of the region generally and Cork in particular, the provision of such new facilities, the other work we are doing within the Prison Service such as the community based measures for dealing with offenders in Cork, and the pilot scheme we have running are all designed to try to ensure we reduce reoffending and that, where possible, people can be rehabilitated within our prisons while at the same time properly serving the sentences imposed by the courts.

People are imprisoned for very serious offences and the general community must understand the State will play a role in deterring people from offending. However, having played that role, it must do what is necessary and in the public interest to try to ensure people do not re-offend. This is all part of what is necessary and I greatly welcome the joint committee's support in this regard. When the project is complete, I am sure members of the joint committee will wish to visit and have a look at what is there. There will be two phases in that the construction phase must be completed, after which there will be the fitting-out phase. At present, the projected time for opening the prison is in or about the spring of 2016. Were we able to achieve that quicker, I would be very happy for us to so do and I reiterate I appreciate the joint committee's support for what we are doing.