Mr. Mickey Brady:

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. The devolution of policing was fought for long and hard in the Six Counties. That has now happened but it appears that is not the case in terms of justice in prison.

The message we are getting is of the denial of fundamental human rights within the prison system. That is very clear.

One of the major contentious issues is strip-searching. The witnesses have indicated they have visited other prisons where there are mechanisms to search people without being degrading. When I was in Stormont, the then Northern Ireland Minister of Justice, David Ford, went on at length about certain machinery and he spoke about a chair, if I remember correctly. Apparently, this was going to be the magic bullet to solve all the problems with strip-searching. Then, it was decided that this would not work. It seems there is no political will to resolve these problems. The witnesses spoke to the new Minister of Justice in June but nothing has happened since then and it seems the lack of political will continues.

It seems the Secretary of State over-rules everything. Mr. Finucane referred to national security. I have been looking recently at the Investigatory Powers Bill that is currently going through the British Parliament. Again, there are blanket references to national security but no definition of reasonable suspicion, a concept that is relevant to some of the points raised. The UK Criminal Finances Bill is coming through. Again, blanket issues in respect of national security and reasonable suspicion arise. These issues need to be addressed. As for as the justice department, prison reform should be at the heart of what that department is about because it has become one of the most contentious issues. I spoke to an ex-prisoner yesterday who was in Maghaberry in 1999. The situation has become increasingly worse. I have spoken to people recently who are out on bail from Maghaberry. I have heard absolute horror stories from people. Unless it is addressed, it will continue to fester.

There is a difficulty with strip-searching in particular. The witnesses are aware of other mechanisms. Is there any particular reason for this policy? Is it being used to degrade prisoners? Obviously, it is at this point, and it continues to be used for this purpose. It is a denial of their fundamental human rights. Can this be addressed in a more humane way? Can mechanisms be introduced to do away with it? I have heard that prisoners moving only 20 yd. within the prison have been strip-searched for no good reason.