Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Since I have been made Minister, I have been to Cork Prison, Cloverhill Prison and I am going to another prison on Monday. I intend to visit every prison, if I am lucky enough to survive in office for a sufficient period of time. It is important that the crisis be addressed. It is being addressed. I know that, to deal with the specific issue the Deputy mentioned about mattresses on the floor, bunk beds are now being purchased and implemented. That is important.

To be frank, I am not going down the route taken in England and Wales in the past nine months where a decision was made by the UK Government in response to the overcrowding crisis that serious offenders would be released from prison at a very early stage. That is not something I am considering. It would be inappropriate to do so. Considering the efforts made by victims' groups and the money we have put into An Garda Síochána and resourcing the courts, a great deal has been invested in the administration of the criminal justice system, not just financially, but also the emotional effort put in by many complainants in cases. I am not going to undermine that system by making a decision that we should just halve the sentences of people incarcerated for serious offences.

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