Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

Without meaning any disrespect to the Minister who is present, I reiterate the point made by the Ceann Comhairle on Tuesday that it is regrettable when Departments do not furnish Ministers to answer issues relating to their Department. It is something we need to address but, that said, I do not think the sitting Minister for Justice and Equality would be able to answer the issues with any more clarity than the Minister of State who is present. Much as we might have criticised the former Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, he had a greater understanding of the urgent need to reform our prison system than all his predecessors or the sitting Minister.

This week the latest report of the Inspector of Prisons was published. The media concentrated on his findings that the Prison Service was responsible for the growth of criminal gangs in prison. However, that is somewhat sensationalist because, while he did say the Prison Service did not have a clear operational strategy for dealing with criminal gangs, I agree with the points made by the Prison Officers Association that to blame the staff for this is outrageous and disproportionate. The staff, through their representative organisations, have been highlighting this issue for a number of years. Time and time again they have asked for gang leaders to be isolated, to be put into separate institutions and taken out of the general prison population so this criticism was spun unfairly. This is one area where prisoners are exposed and vulnerable and not getting the support they should get.

Staff in the Prison Service have seen their wages decimated.

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The starting rate of pay for prison staff is minuscule. Austerity is not incidental in this issue and we cannot look at the report in isolation. Two months ago the Inspector of Prisons produced a separate report which referred to the deaths of two very vulnerable prisoners. He highlighted the fact that prison records had been falsified by staff and that the prisoners had not been given the care and attention to which they had lawfully been entitled. In addition, we have had the revelations of the recording of telephone conversations between prisoners and their solicitors. This indicates dysfunctionality in the prison system, an issue which the Minister for Justice and Equality does not seem to be keen to address.

I refer, in particular, to what is happening in Portlaoise Prison. During the summer prisoners in the E block had to engage in protest action to highlight the squalid Victorian conditions in the prison. The failure of management to provide adequate medical cover or hygienic facilities has had a serious impact on prisoners' health. The practice of slopping out continues. Cells are damp and leaking beyond repair. They are unventilated and freezing cold during the winter. Access to a doctor is limited to two days a week and on several occasions no doctor is available. This is not good enough. It is a human rights issue.

A delegation of Deputies has requested permission to visit Portlaoise Prison and our request has been awaiting a reply for months, which is astounding. We regularly seek permission to visit Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland and are granted that permission without a problem, but here in the South when we ask for permission to go and look at conditions in Portlaoise Prison, our letters are not answered. We are told our request is being considered, but we are left waiting for months for a reply. This is not good enough and is a very serious indictment of our society if we cannot treat in an appropriate manner these neglected citizens who may be despised but who, in some ways, are highly vulnerable.

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