Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)

The reality is that our prisons are awash with drugs. In 2004, the former Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, famously promised to rid our jails of drugs within 18 months. That did not happen. People are entering our jails without drug problems and leaving addicted to hard drugs. The only way to break this cycle is through proper rehabilitation for young offenders such as the inmates of St. Patrick's institution.

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