Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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Without meaning any disrespect to the Minister who is present, I reiterate the point made by the Ceann Comhairle on Tuesday that it is regrettable when Departments do not furnish Ministers to answer issues relating to their Department. It is something we need to address but, that said, I do not think the sitting Minister for Justice and Equality would be able to answer the issues with any more clarity than the Minister of State who is present. Much as we might have criticised the former Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, he had a greater understanding of the urgent need to reform our prison system than all his predecessors or the sitting Minister.

This week the latest report of the Inspector of Prisons was published. The media concentrated on his findings that the Prison Service was responsible for the growth of criminal gangs in prison. However, that is somewhat sensationalist because, while he did say the Prison Service did not have a clear operational strategy for dealing with criminal gangs, I agree with the points made by the Prison Officers Association that to blame the staff for this is outrageous and disproportionate. The staff, through their representative organisations, have been highlighting this issue for a number of years. Time and time again they have asked for gang leaders to be isolated, to be put into separate institutions and taken out of the general prison population so this criticism was spun unfairly. This is one area where prisoners are exposed and vulnerable and not getting the support they should get.

Staff in the Prison Service have seen their wages decimated.

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The starting rate of pay for prison staff is minuscule. Austerity is not incidental in this issue and we cannot look at the report in isolation. Two months ago the Inspector of Prisons produced a separate report which referred to the deaths of two very vulnerable prisoners. He highlighted the fact that prison records had been falsified by staff and that the prisoners had not been given the care and attention to which they had lawfully been entitled. In addition, we have had the revelations of the recording of telephone conversations between prisoners and their solicitors. This indicates dysfunctionality in the prison system, an issue which the Minister for Justice and Equality does not seem to be keen to address.

I refer, in particular, to what is happening in Portlaoise Prison. During the summer prisoners in the E block had to engage in protest action to highlight the squalid Victorian conditions in the prison. The failure of management to provide adequate medical cover or hygienic facilities has had a serious impact on prisoners' health. The practice of slopping out continues. Cells are damp and leaking beyond repair. They are unventilated and freezing cold during the winter. Access to a doctor is limited to two days a week and on several occasions no doctor is available. This is not good enough. It is a human rights issue.

A delegation of Deputies has requested permission to visit Portlaoise Prison and our request has been awaiting a reply for months, which is astounding. We regularly seek permission to visit Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland and are granted that permission without a problem, but here in the South when we ask for permission to go and look at conditions in Portlaoise Prison, our letters are not answered. We are told our request is being considered, but we are left waiting for months for a reply. This is not good enough and is a very serious indictment of our society if we cannot treat in an appropriate manner these neglected citizens who may be despised but who, in some ways, are highly vulnerable.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister who, unfortunately, cannot be present, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter.

The Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, with the assistance of Professor Andrew Coyle, carried out an assessment of the current culture within the Irish Prison Service and the extent to which it facilitated or hindered the development of the service. The inspector officially presented his report to the Minister Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, on Tuesday, 3 November. On her behalf, I take the opportunity to once again thank the inspector and Professor Coyle for all of their hard work in bringing the report to fruition.

This is the first time that an Inspector of Prisons who is independent of the Government has embarked on this type of review of the prevailing culture in the Irish Prison Service. The Minister welcomes the report which focuses on two key issues: the structure of the Irish Prison Service and the training and development of personnel. It contains many recommendations and seeks to provide a roadmap for the future. It will make a positive contribution to the reforms already under way in the Irish Prison Service.

As the inspector said at the time of announcing the review, there have been positive developments in recent years. Much has been done to address the many issues which have adversely affected the prison system for decades. For example, slopping out is being eliminated; modernisation of the accommodation wings in Mountjoy Prison is now complete; the new Cork Prison will be ready for occupation early in the new year; a significant redevelopment project for Limerick Prison is planned; we are well on our way to fulfilling the commitment in the current programme for Government to end the practice of sending children to St Patrick's Institution; and we are examining options to improve the detention and rehabilitative systems for female offenders. However, the Minister believes more can be done if we build on the investment already made by the Government, management and staff of the Irish Prison Service at all levels.

While highlighting challenges, it is welcome that the report also acknowledges the many positive aspects of the service, including the dedication of its staff. It also expresses concerns about the gang culture in prisons. Earlier this week the Minister joined the Garda Commissioner as she launched Operation Thor, a new anti-burglary and anti-crime strategy. It includes a new, targeted approach to disrupting criminal gangs, an effort backed by investment by the Government in both overtime and new high powered vehicles. As the Minister said on Tuesday at the launch of the report, she believes there should no place for gangs operating in the community and no place for a gang culture in prisons. She has asked the director general of the Irish Prison Service to provide her with a comprehensive response to the report's concerns about a gang culture in prisons.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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The pace of reform has slowed since the former Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, exited the brief. We need to look at this area very seriously. People in prison are citizens. In many ways, they are forgotten citizens, but we need to separate their behaviour from the human being and deal with that issue appropriately. A report published in June indicated that one in ten of the youngest inmates was on a restricted regime and locked up for up to 23 hours a day, which is not human rights compliant. That hundreds of prisoners have requested to be in isolation indicates inappropriate governance in the Irish Prison Service. We need to step back and look at this. For example, when citizens end up in prison, we should take the opportunity to deal with their behaviour and rehabilitate them to enable them to go back into society. A way of doing this is to treat them humanely by addressing their living conditions, as prison, in one sense, is their home. The Minister of State has said slopping out has been reduced, which is true, but the reality is that it still happens in E wing of Portlaoise Prison, for example. Conditions in that prison are horrendous, with slabs of concrete falling off walls in the showers hitting prisoners, electrical wires exposed in the shower area, giving rise to the danger of electrocution, and doctors pointing to the possibility of legionnaires' disease being contracted because of the Victorian conditions in the prison. This issue needs to be addressed. I ask the Minister to intervene with the Irish Prison Service on behalf of the cross-party delegation of Deputies who want to visit the prison.

How we treat prisoners is important. For example, I have been dealing with the case of a Donegal man, Gerard McManus, since 2013. He has requested a transfer from Maghaberry Prison to Portlaoise Prison for family reasons. More than a year ago the Irish Prison Service informed me that it was dealing with his request for a transfer, yet it has still not dealt with it. This causes stress and isolation, as well as pressure on prisoners and it is not human rights-compliant. We could do better. I agree with the Minister of State that the Inspector of Prisons has done a great job in his reports. However, what he is suggesting is that we need to do considerably more, but I do not see enough evidence of this under the Minister.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge the Deputy's knowledge of the subject and her genuine interest in it. The report of the Inspector of Prisons is far-reaching and an important contribution to the reform of the criminal justice system, as the Deputy has acknowledged. The Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and her officials need time to consider how its recommendations might best be implemented. The report will inform the Irish Prison Service's next three-year strategic plan for the period 2015 to 2018 which will focus on building relationships, rehabilitative measures, efforts to reduce reoffending and the further development of penal policy to realise the vision of a safer community through excellence in a prison service built on respect for human dignity. At the launch of the report the Minister said she intended to bring it to the Cabinet shortly, initially for its information and at a later stage for decisions to be made. In the interim she wants to ensure key stakeholders have a chance to reflect on it and provide feedback.