Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Shatter, on the Bill he has brought before us and wish him well in his new role. As this is the first time I have addressed the House since my election, I take the opportunity to thank my family, friends and supporters who assisted me in the general election campaign. Most importantly, I thank the people of south Kildare who put their trust in me and placed a huge responsibility on my shoulders. I am honoured, humbled and excited by that responsibility and will endeavour to represent the people of south Kildare to the very best of my ability.

The Bill offers benefits for communities, the State and, most importantly, society in general. Within communities, a first-time offender could be ordered, for example, to assist in the removal of graffiti or become involved in a tidy towns committee. I have engaged with various voluntary organisation for many years and I am always amazed by the calibre of people who get involved. They do so not for personal gain but because of their pride in the area in which they live. Such persons give up their free time in order to make their locality a better place in which to live. They are ambassadors for the country and role models for society.

If a first-time offender who is from a socially deprived background and has been charged, for instance, with a non-violent theft is sent to prison, he or she will meet more hardened criminals with vast experience of the system and how to commit crime. The prison system functions like a breeding ground in such instances where the first-time offender is taught better means of engaging in crime without getting caught. There is no benefit to society in imprisoning such offenders. By comparison, imposing community service in such cases will put offenders in touch with passionate ambassadors within community and voluntary organisations who will open their eyes to a different view of their community. It is a no brainer. The benefit to the State from the reduced burden on the Irish Prison Service is significant. The service has reported that between 2008 and 2009 the number of committals increased by 35%. Our prisons are bursting at the seams. This is not because the country is more lawless than others. However, Irish society will gain more than most from the proposed change in the legislation because it will ensure greater fairnessin how we operate.

Among all the people I met during the canvass one of the greatest concerns was the perceived lack of fairness in how people had been treated both before the recession and since. We must introduce fairness to how we deal with people. A person who fails to pay a television licence fee and the subsequent fines may well end up in Mountjoy Prison. Compare this with the treatment of some of the bankers who worked in financial services in this country and who by their actions and inaction contributed to the burden of billions of euro placed on the State and its taxpayers. It seems the people concerned are still playing golf and going on sun holidays. We must initiate a change in our society to ensure wrongdoing on such a scale is dealt with swiftly and firmly. It seems that in some cases our prisons are filled with the wrong people.

We will only get the country back on track by bringing the people with us and we will only be able to do this when there is greater equality within society. We must have a society that deals effectively with first-time offenders with a clear goal of seeking to avoid repeat offences. Prison is not the place for someone who has committed a minor road offence. In my own county community service orders are not widely implemented in the courts as a means of sentencing. That is to the detriment of the administration of justice. I hope the provisions in the Bill will ensure community service is considered more often as a better way to deal with those convicted of minor offences.

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