Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I fundamentally agree with the Deputy that there should never be a scenario where, for example, a school, workshop or training centre in a prison cannot open and people are instead sent out to a yard. That is a recipe for a variety of challenges, including challenges for prison officers as well as trying to break the cycle that we collectively want to break.

I have spoken to the director general of the Irish Prison Service. One of the first things we will examine in the new prison education task force, which will hold its first meeting in Mountjoy next Wednesday, will be how we can make sure that we properly resource but also structure schools and training centres. The Government recently published the health needs assessments for the prison population joint project between the Departments of Justice and Health and the Irish Prison Service. It outlines how we can begin to tackle some of those issues in terms of the health needs of prisoners.

I fundamentally believe that we have to look at this from both angles. We have to look at this from the point of view of penal reform and how we can reduce recidivism. We also need to recognise that as the population grows we need to expand capacity in prison. We have to do both of those things at the same time.

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