Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have too many people in prison. I know politics will tell us we should not care about people who are in prison, but we should. We have more people in prison than we have beds available. Some are lying on mattresses close to toilets. I would not spend a night lying on a mattress close to a toilet and I do not think the Minister of State would either, so I do not think we should expect anybody in the prison system to do that. Those in the prison system say there are far too many people with addiction issues and mental health challenges in prison who do not belong there and far too many people being sent to prison for four months. They cannot engage in prison life or do any sort of educational activity with a four-month sentence. It is a complete waste of everybody's time. The instinctive reaction from the Government when told about prison overcrowding from the Irish Penal Reform Trust is to say that we need more prisons. I would say to the Minister of State that we do not need more prisons; we need fewer prisoners. What is he going to do about it?

See this speech in context