Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. Since Deputy Clare Daly has robbed all the time and the questions, I will be as brief as I can. I am disappointed to hear that if I end up in prison, I will be considered an old man, given that I am over 55.

It has been brought to our attention and highlighted to us that while there have been huge improvements in Cork with the new prison - the old one was in a very dilapidated condition - chronic staff shortages at the prison has left one of the wings in a bad state, with low staff morale, widespread bullying of prisoners and deteriorated staff-prisoner interaction. Are staffing levels a big problem? We understand further that many retirements are coming down the track. Will recruitment numbers be sufficient to fill the gap? On the same theme, I think we all agree that rehabilitation and dealing with prisoners' mental health challenges and drug use are important. We know what needs to be done. We are probably a little sceptical that we can make serious progress in these areas unless the Irish Prison Service gets more resources. What do the witnesses think about this aspect of the matter? Deputy Daly talked about the media. It is unfortunate that sometimes, some people do not do the right thing because of how the media might react to it. I think we would all be better off if we cared less about what the media think and just went ahead and did what we think we should do.

Would it be more difficult to control the prison population if there were no drugs or is that a false notion?