Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I was a member of the group that produced the McBride report on the prisons, which was followed by the Whitaker report. All I can say is it is a matter of the deepest disappointment how few Deputies in this House are free to speak about prison reform and to respond to what was an appalling report. I pay tribute to the director of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons as much as I say that the officials in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform preside over something that is in breach of human rights. It is a scandal.

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