Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Fine Gael and Green Party amendments repeat amendments which were debated extensively on Committee Stage. Deputy Morgan's amendment, which has been struck down, related to much the same issue. These amendments may be summarised as the provision of information and assistance for the prisoner in the registration and in the voting process. We had fun with this on Committee Stage when we discussed cell to cell canvassing.

We must bear in mind that we need to strike a balance between providing for and facilitating, as much as possible, the prisoner's right to vote and the need to maintain an orderly and appropriate regime within our prisons. The proposed amendments should be considered in the context of the approach being adopted to support and promote the provision of practical information and assistance.

Section 5 of the Bill already requires local authorities to give public notice of the availability of prisoner postal voting. Under this section, application forms must be made available by the local authority, including in every prison. These forms will contain appropriate explanatory information as to what needs to be done. Complimenting this, it will also be possible to arrange for appropriate posters to be devised advertising the new arrangements for the prisons and for leaflets to be made specifically available through the Prison Service.

It is the case that prisoners must receive information on their arrival in prison. I mentioned on Committee Stage that guidelines would be issued to ensure we have a common approach in this regard. Library facilities in prisons are an important focal point. Prisoners have access to a wide range of media and they have access through their families and organisations representing prisoners. To the greatest degree that is practically possible, the Bill allows for information to be made available.

The issues raised by Deputy O'Dowd's proposed new section 6 and Deputy Cuffe's proposed new section 8 relate to information and assistance. The relevant official in the prison will have an important role in helping the process and further informal arrangements may well emerge at local level. It is not necessary or appropriate that we place a direct role on the relevant official, or the Prison Service generally, beyond that already specified. It is specified in the Bill that there will have to be designation of a specific official. Overall, the arrangements being put in place are more than adequate to ensure that prisoners will have access to both information and assistance.

My Department will collect data on the number of prisoners taking up postal voting, which will provide a basis for monitoring the process. It would become quickly evident, particularly as prisoners' rights organisations will also be very interested in this aspect, if there was, for example, a disproportionate under-registration in any prison. That in itself will operate as a reporting mechanism.

For those reasons, it is not prudent for me to accept the amendments. This is not because I wish to be difficult or obdurate but because sufficient devices are already in place.

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