James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will make two observations on what has been said. One is on going back to Limerick Prison. This speaks to some of the issues of whether or not people should be in prison and the issues behind that. I think Dr. O'Connell wanted to come in on that point. I visited the new Limerick prison which will open in January to see what it was like and it is an excellent facility. Chief among the facilities is a dedicated rape crisis counsellor, which is of huge significance in a women's prison. There are few people who end up there who do not come from a background of significant trauma. There is also a dentist, another significant support for women in prison.

We have talked about short sentences and I agree with all the points made. Short sentences are pointless from the perspective of the State because there is no opportunity to begin education or training programmes in a meaningful way. They do not deliver anything for the State or the person in prison.

Women in prison must be among the most vulnerable, particularly women from the Traveller community. They have not been mentioned today and I want to highlight them. The IPRT published good figures on how disproportionate their experience was in being represented in the prison community, the circumstances through which they had got there and various things that had happened to bring them to that point. I refer anybody watching to the IPRT figures on that. I spent two hours with women in Limerick Prison having sandwiches and talking about the issues they faced, that is, the rape crisis centre, dentistry and women from the Traveller community. They are in very difficult circumstances, notwithstanding what else happened in their lives. I think Dr. O'Connell wanted to come in on trauma.