Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

This debate has been prompted by the resignation of the Governor of the Dóchas Centre, Ms Kathleen McMahon, to whom I pay tribute. I commend her work during her time at the Dóchas Centre. The matter of the resignation should, at long last, cause the Government and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in particular, to come forward with a prison plan. The resignation of Governor McMahon is the latest in a long line of totally unacceptable occurrences in the prison system. Each year, we receive the reports of the Inspector of Prisons, the prison visiting committees around the country and the various prison chaplains. We also receive numerous other national and international reports from bodies like the Council of Europe and Amnesty International. Such reports consistently cite the serious problems that go to the root of our prison system.

If something good is to come from the resignation of Governor McMahon, I hope it is that the Government produces a plan. It does not have one at present. Problems like chronic overcrowding, drugs in prison and the revolving door system are discussed in this House on a regular basis. Last week, a man who was given a ten-month prison sentence in a court in Limerick served just two days in prison. We often hear that our prisons are dangerous, unsafe and characterised by the revolving door.

The last major initiative we had on prisons was as far back as 1985, when the then Taoiseach, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, instructed Mr. T.K. Whitaker to engage in a comprehensive process that ultimately resulted in the production of the Whitaker report. Many years on, it is sad that many of the recommendations in the report have yet to be implemented. In a document written more than 20 years after the publication of the report, the chairman of the committee reflected on the prison system then and now:

The Committee saw in imprisonment little beyond temporary - and very expensive - protection of the public, with virtually no rehabilitative or educational value. Far too many people were - and still are - imprisoned for short periods of time for minor offences not involving violence, such as debt, resulting in overcrowding and unwarranted expense. For such crimes, we recommended other penalties.

Those who reflected on 1985 indicated that very little had changed and nothing had improved.

As Governor McMahon made clear, we have an intolerable situation in our prisons. There are reports of bullying and harassment of staff. Prisoners and staff members are endangered. This situation must change. I ask the Minister to implement a programme of real reform in our prison system. He should commit himself and his colleagues to implementing the recommendations made in reports on prison inspections within a specific timeframe. Full body scanners should be introduced to screen visitors and prevent mobile phones and other contraband, including drugs, from being smuggled in. Attachment of earnings orders, which were proposed in this House by Fine Gael some years ago, should be introduced. Community service should be used as a sanction for minor offences. The Thornton Hall project, which is suffering from inaction on the part of the Minister, should be reviewed. We have spent over €40 million on the project, but not one brick or block has been laid on the north Dublin site to date.

See this speech in context