Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will not meet the Minister tomorrow; I will meet the Secretary of State. The Minister agrees that a reformed justice and prison system has a major part to play in ensuring a more positive future for Northern Ireland. Our position is that there must be full implementation of the recommendations made in the Owers report. That is the best way to ensure conditions within all prisons in Northern Ireland are of an acceptable standard. We will continue to have that discussion with the Minister and the Secretary of State and through the British-Irish Interparliamentary Council secretariat. We are open to hearing the comments and receiving the observations of the Oireachtas group that has visited the prisons and ensuring the issues raised are addressed.

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