Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

The figures given to the House by the Minister have been well massaged and cooked either by himself or somebody close to him. He is complicit in massaging the figures, which do not show the true picture. There are 3,947 prison spaces in the country currently and he has conveniently said that 3,904 are occupied.

The Minister also conveniently neglected to inform the House that over 600 people sentenced to prison by the courts independently of the Minister's office are on temporary release. The number of prisoners on temporary release runs at three times the average for the past number of years at this time. People are being released from prison without having served their sentence because the Minister has failed in his duty to provide appropriate prison spaces for those persons convicted of serious charges and sent to prison by order of the court.

The Minister has repeatedly made promises to the Houses regarding sufficient prison spaces. I welcome what has been done in Castlerea, which formed part of a four-pronged commitment given to the House earlier this year, three parts of which remain unfulfilled.

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