Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Community service makes sense as it brings people back to basics, keeps them in touch with reality and is a far more productive way of dealing with someone who has infringed the law rather than putting them in prison.

It would be good if we could close prisons. The Minister of State mentioned America and it is fitting that he did so. It has become a joke in America, with more than 2 million people in prison. They have privatised most of it so people have a vested interest in increasing prison numbers. Thankfully, we have not gone there and hopefully we will not privatise prisons because if we do so we will see the numbers increase. America has lost the plot on prisons and it is a massive problem.

Some people cannot be controlled and cannot behave themselves. We must curtail their activities through imprisoning them. Aside from those people, there is no logical reason for most people to be in prison. How mad is the idea of sending women to prison? I do not think there should be a women's prison and no woman should ever be sent to prison. Too many men are being sent to prison for things that could be dealt with in a different way. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the issue and I will not take up any more time.

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