Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

——it will take time for the benefits of that to accrue.

I am also pleased to note the Minister of State's references to specific aspects of the first two reports on which the recommendations are already well in train. That is not to say there are not additional recommendations which we must accelerate in the interests of having a proper regulated Prison Service.

I was inclined to focus on the second report at the expense of the first but it contains some good recommendations. One of the recommendations related to Shanganagh Castle to which Senator Cummins referred. It was a prison which was closed because it was a dormitory facility. The inspector was impressed by its green open spaces which were considered conducive to the involvement of prisoners in rehabilitative activity, which is part of the purpose of the Prison Service. I highlight this point although the facilities at Shanganagh can no longer be used without major changes and a new building. When we build new prisons it is important to take into account that type of approach so that adequate facilities can be provided. We must avoid creating another concrete jungle such as exists at Mountjoy Prison which is antediluvian and must be replaced.

As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights which visited Mountjoy Prison a year ago, I would welcome the implementation of the plans for Thornton to ensure the new prison there will have all the facilities necessary to ensure a well-regulated, rehabilitative environment that will have a positive effect on many of the inmates who will go through that facility.

Portlaoise Prison, which was also mentioned, will also come up for retention. Perhaps because of the security problem posed by many of the prisoners in Portlaoise Prison, it might not be as easy to have as much open space. Nonetheless, the effort should be made because, to some extent, we are in a different political climate in respect of paramilitaries. This should be recognised in changes we make to ensure that those who are imprisoned are afforded opportunities to enable themselves to participate fully in society and live meaningful and useful lives rather than spending much of their lives behind bars. It is a matter for them to avail of these opportunities and the State should not fail in providing them.

The report mentions drug addiction among prisoners. I noted recently that it is reckoned that only 2% of the population in Massachusetts ends up in difficulty with the law. The authorities in that state try to target that 2%. It is very much an ethnic issue in Massachusetts while in Ireland is often an issue associated with disadvantaged areas, as Senator O'Toole stated. We should deal with the issue through our community policing programme, which is part of an integrated approach to tackling crime. Prison represents the last step in this approach. When prison is required it means we may have failed to correct the activities of certain people such that they must, of necessity, pay their dues to society in prison.

I am informed that the authorities in Massachusetts stated 80% of the prison population in that state are either drug users or addicts. On visiting Mountjoy Prison, they were surprised at the level of drug use therein. I know there are difficulties associated with eradicating the problem. Undoubtedly, many members of the prison population are drug users. Drug use leads to much of the criminal activity in our communities. I am not sure how we should tackle the problem but a holistic approach is required to try to arrest the increase in the number of people using drugs and, as a consequence, finding themselves in prison.

The point is well made in the report that we should ensure prisoners are not unoccupied and that they are given useful and meaningful tasks to do. Work was referred to in the House. The annual cost of servicing each prisoner is such that there should be a payback. We exercise far too much discretion regarding what prisoners wish to do. There should be an onus on prisoners to work for a certain period of the week in productive employment to help meet the cost of their imprisonment.

It is good to note in the report that the morale of prison staff is quite high. I welcome this. My esteemed colleague Senator Cummins should note that one of the main recommendations of the report is that the inspectorate be established as a statutory and independent unit. This is now in train and a commitment has been made by the Minister to achieve this, which is to be welcomed.

A Senator referred to video linking for bail and pre-trial applications to court. It seems wasteful of prison officers' time and public moneys that people are transported long distances under guard to attend court given that we live in a new communications age in which video linking and conferencing is quite common and effective in the business world. Ways should be found to fully utilise this technology such that people would only end up in court during their trials, at which time it might be necessary for them to be present. This issue should be considered.

A recommendation of the first report is that juvenile prisoners should not be mixed with adult prisoners. I subscribe fully to this. I have seen evidence of people going to prison for relatively minor offences by comparison with other offences we hear about. As a consequence of their experience and the contacts they make in the prison system, they graduate to much more serious crime when released. This is a reflection on the system and therefore it is imperative that we use other ways of holding people to account for their crimes. Community service should be used more widely.

The restorative justice system, which operates in Tallaght and Nenagh according to my colleagues on the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, should be rolled out to other areas. I was in Canada recently and noted this system was used fairly extensively in the area I visited. The Canadians highly commended its effects, particularly among ethnic populations. It was found that offenders' having to appear before their own relatives to explain a crime they committed and the embarrassment caused to their families all served as a force to reintegrate those offenders into society and dissociate them from criminal activity. This is a far more effective approach than putting offenders in an institution such as a prison.

I support the recommendation in the report that Oireachtas Members should have the right to visit prisons. This was highlighted by Senator Henry. Oireachtas Members should not be allowed to arrive at the prison gates in a taxi whenever they want but they should be allowed visit one day per month.

Coolamber Manor, a rehabilitation unit on a 150-acre site in Longford, is a model that should be replicated, as recommended in the report. It provides vocational training and intensive counselling. If we take this course of action, we will reap the benefits.