Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not think I have ever heard as brutal a response from a Minister at this committee. I do not mean it in a personal way when I say it was absolute and utter waffle and nonsense. Given that we are talking about legislation which has been prioritised by two Ministers, it is ridiculous to flag legislation that has not even been drafted yet. The legislation in question has been in the pipeline at this committee since the previous Dáil. I have asked the Minister why it has not been advanced and he has referred to legislation we have not yet seen. It is beyond disrespectful to those who have lost their wives in cases of maternal death to fail to deal with the issue of pre-action protocols. Women are before the courts today dealing with the HSE because the Department of Justice and Equality has not enacted legislation which has been passed by these Houses and put in place the necessary protocols.

I do not agree with the Minister when he says we realise and appreciate that the coroners (amendment) Bill is a complex issue. I know it is not a complex Bill. When the Chairman and I sat with officials from the top echelons of the Department of Justice and Equality almost a year ago, they assured us they had a strategy. That was the second time we met them. We also met them when Deputy Frances Fitzgerald was Minister for Justice and Equality. They assured us that they would deliver this in six weeks. It is of no solace to assure me now that it is a priority because I was given a similar assurance 18 months ago. It is really disrespectful to waffle on about other Bills that are not published. It is for this precise reason that the committee wanted officials from the Department to come before it. We are sick of being fobbed off with nonsense. Legislation that is being advanced by this committee and both Houses is being allowed to sit there. It is expected that we will be satisfied by being thrown a few crumbs about something else. It is disgraceful. I am not going to comment on it further.

In the committee's report on penal policy, we recommended that resources should be made available urgently to ensure appropriate mental healthcare for all prisoners. Will the Minister indicate what action the Department is taking to implement this decision? Deputy Wallace and I have received a letter from a seriously ill long-term prisoner in one of our prisons. He told us that he feels he is being sedated, dulled and kept in his place for a period of time. He is not getting the help he needs. It is indicative of the situation throughout the Prison Service. What has been done since we made our recommendation in our report?

What is the position with the Prisons (Solitary Confinement) (Amendment) Bill 2016? In its report on penal reform, the committee called on the Government to facilitate without further delay the passage of that legislation. I am not talking about getting a promise that something might be drafted before the summer; I am talking about a Bill that has been passed by the Dáil on Second Stage and referred to this committee. A money message was requested by this committee and the Houses in February 2017. More than 15 months later, nothing has happened. Is the Department content to ignore the democratic wishes of the House and the committee? Is the Minister okay with this? What is he doing to facilitate it? There are people in these conditions in prison now, and they need assistance.

What is the story with these two Bills? When the Minister is responding to my questions, I ask him to deal with the point I have made about pre-action protocols, which is linked to the claims and the cases before the courts at the moment.