Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I realise the health challenges involved. It is a question of balance. I recognise that video visits have been made available, although there have been some gremlins with that system. It is certainly a help but, all as all of us have discovered in our own lives, video visits, Skype and so on are no substitute for personal contact. We are also aware that one of the big losses involved in being in prison is the loss of family contact. This has been exacerbated this year. We also know that good family contact can also have an effect on outcomes for prisoners after they leave prison.

The Minister of State said that two people will be allowed per visit, one of whom will obviously be an adult. If there are two or three children in a family, that family will be placed in an invidious situation. I imagine that the number of prisoners with children is not equal to the total prison population. Can anything be done to introduce some flexibility because it seems that this will be very difficult for people at this very special time of the year?

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