Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

As the Taoiseach is aware, there is overcrowding in every prison in the State at present. That has consequences for the prisoners but also for the prison officers. While punishment has to be part of the prison experience, it is also essential that we address rehabilitation and deter recidivism. We have only two open prisons in the State. Shelton Abbey in Arklow is one of them. It works with Tosú on some excellent programmes in educating, training and rehabilitating a number of prisoners, working with local employers and often providing role models. Some of those prisoners go back into communities to talk about the dangers of going into a life of crime.

I would like to see a commitment on the part of the Government toward the possibility of opening a female open prison because there is not one in the State, and of looking at more opportunities for schemes such as those run by Tosú about being able, after the punishment has been served, to rehabilitate those prisoners and prevent recidivism.

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