Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I have some questions that perhaps cannot be answered today because we are due to finish at 12.30 p.m. For us as a committee, it is not just about visiting halting sites and not taking any action. It is not just about going into the prisons and seeing the men and women and leaving it there. It has really opened up my eyes. In Castlerea Prison, Ms Costello said that we are not looking for more prisons; we are looking for more support to help people stay out of prison. She also spoke about indigenous people all over the world being more likely to end up in prison than the general population, in their own countries.

Reference was made to the ethnic identifier in prisons and I think that is important information for us to have. From my visits, I know that in one prison, Travellers made up more than 30% of the male inmates. Behind that statistic is a large number of men taken away from their families. I understand that many people are in prison for valid reasons but some people are in prison for doing things that they needed to do to survive, as Ms Sweeney mentioned, when she talked about needing to feed her children. This is the human side of the issue.

When visiting the prisons, we spoke about the fact that attacking the Prison Service was not the purpose of the committee. The purpose is to come up with solutions and to see what we can do collectively to make life easier for the people working on the outside and most importantly, for the prisoners themselves. I will email the list of questions I have. They are about the ethnic identifiers and how to reduce reoffending rates in the Traveller community.

On the issue of homelessness, yesterday we were working on the planning and development legislation in the Seanad. While I was seeking to have the Traveller community named in the Bill, the Ministers responded by stating that was up to the Traveller accommodation programme, TAP. Unfortunately, in my time in Leinster House, I have not seen the political will to make life more bearable for members of the Traveller community. I learned this during the planning and development legislation when the Minister continually refused to mention Travellers in the legislation. People with disabilities and prisoners did not even get a look-in.

Again, I think we have a lot to work on with as a society. I refer to the work of the Traveller Justice Initiative, the Irish Prison Reform Trust and Barnardos. For me, the Traveller Mediation Service is something we need not just in our prison system but also in society in general. I could not say how many times I have rung Chris McDonagh of the Traveller Mediation Service for politicians, for TDs and for local county councillors. Garda superintendents have also contacted me. If I have learned anything in the past four and half years, it is the importance of having the Traveller Mediation Service on the ground. We will do what we can to support it. It is not just about visiting and getting the lovely food the prisoners cooked for us in Castlerea Prison. It was such a lovely experience for us as a committee. Again, though, there is so much we have to do as a committee.

I thank all the witnesses for coming in. I do not know if someone would like to share something before we wrap up. There is a minute to do so if they think there is anything important that should be shared.