Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will raise a couple of points. The Joint Committee on Justice and Equality has done considerable work on penal reform and signed off on a report on the issue earlier this morning. Attention must be paid to the way in which the accounts are laid out. It is ludicrous to have the Prison Service treated in isolation, with the Probation Service and community service under a separate heading. We could spend much less on this area and save substantial sums if the joint committee's recommendations on providing alternatives to prison and focusing more on community service were implemented. This would free up significant resources. Perhaps this matter will be considered in future.

Members do not support the establishment of a step-down for women. It is incredibly paternalistic to introduce a structure of this type for female offenders who are moving back into the community, particularly given that women are generally incarcerated for crimes of poverty and other offences with low levels of violence. We would prefer a much more empowering structure to be established to enable women to move back to their communities and live in proper accommodation rather than in some sort of halfway house. Most European countries are moving away from the halfway house model. Will the Minister set out the justification for adopting this approach as it is out of kilter with modern thinking on women in prison?

I will raise briefly the systems in place in the Prison Service for protected disclosures. We will discuss the handling by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, of protected disclosures by gardaí under the next heading. With regard to protected disclosures for members of the Prison Service, of which there have been a number recently, is the Minister satisfied with the current system? Are additional moneys being allocated for dealing with protected disclosures in the Prison Service, for example, to cover compensation payments? Are plans in place to change the current system and, if so, will these give rise to costs?