Seán Kenny (Dublin North East, Labour)

I will probably not use the full ten minutes. It is fitting that Deputy Broughan is in the Chair as I thank the electorate of Dublin North-East for electing me again to the Dáil after a 14-year absence. Unlike Deputy Flanagan, I did not have to complete a community service order, although losing a seat is somewhat like it. I pay tribute to those who lost seats in the last general election, of which there were many. I am sure they are going through a difficult time and I empathise with them, having gone through the process myself. I assure them that it is possible to be returned to the House.

I welcome the Bill and, in particular, the section requiring that if an offender has been convicted and the court is of the opinion that a sentence of imprisonment of up to 12 months would be appropriate, the court will consider as an alternative to that sentence the imposition of a community service order. This is a progressive improvement on existing legislation.

I understand a review of community service orders on a value-for-money basis was conducted in 2009, with the review indicating that the scheme was not being used to its full extent. There was potential for significant financial savings by imposing community service orders as an alternative to custody in sentencing for minor offences where a sentence of up to 12 months may be appropriate. The imposition of community service orders would also have a positive impact on an offender and the community benefiting from work carried out.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust has welcomed the introduction of the Bill, and it has indicated the proposed Bill can make a real difference to a number of problems within the justice system. It points out that the Irish prison population has doubled since 1997, with sentence committals rising by 35% in 2009, which is the last year for which it has figures. The figures rose from 8,000 in 2008 to nearly 11,000 in 2009. The trust also points out that 70% of sentenced committals in 2009 were for six months or less. They also point that over 3,600 committals were for road traffic offences in 2009, representing a third of the total. That was an increase of almost 60% from 2008. The trust also argued that community sanctions are much cheaper than imprisonment and, with certain categories of offenders, are demonstrably more effective with lower levels of reoffending. That is of crucial importance in consideration of the Bill.

In 1991, I was Lord Mayor of Dublin and I was granted permission at the time by the Minister responsible for justice to visit Mountjoy Prison following a number of deaths by suicide in the prison. Deputy Flanagan spoke about his experience in Castlerea so I will talk about my experience in visiting Mountjoy, although I visited the facility under different circumstances. I met the prison governor, Mr. John Lonergan, and his prison staff, who allowed me to visit all the areas of the prison I wished to see. At that time I was appalled by the conditions I saw there and, regrettably, little has changed in the intervening period except that overcrowding in the prison has increased. The building of a replacement prison in Mountjoy is still awaited despite all the concerns expressed.

I met prisoners at the time who were there for not having car tax or motor insurance. I found, through discussions with the prisoners, that literacy problems seemed to play a large part in their issues with tax and insurance, etc. I also met a number of Travellers who were imprisoned at the time. Such people would have been better served by being placed on community service orders rather than being incarcerated in Mountjoy Prison. I take this opportunity to commend to the House the record of John Lonergan as a humane and fair governor of Mountjoy Prison.

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