Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

I do not know what more Senator Cummins could ask for. His own party will have the option to object to or discuss matters relating to decisions the Minister might make in respect of the building and development of prisons from now on, which is admirable.

The Minister has had a few calls to make in the past 18 months to two years, particularly in respect of the Garda reserve force and prison officers' overtime. I applauded him for his stance on both issues. He was not for turning on either of them and I thought of the expression, "You can love him, you can hate him but you don't ignore him". This was the case in respect of his stance on prison officers' overtime. That his changes have now been accepted is a vindication of his determination in the first instance and the Government's support for him. The immoral and unsustainable levels of overtime paid to prison officers at that time, in excess of their gross pay, could not be sustained. Something that was costing us €60 million per annum now saves us in the region of €30 million and, as far as I am aware, there has been no effect on the efficiency or effectiveness of the service.

The Minister said that he has changed his mind on privatising the prisoner escort service and that he will leave it within the existing framework, albeit in a different guise. I would have no difficulty with the privatisation of that service. A number of prison officers are tied up in it, as are a number of gardaí who could be otherwise engaged in the frontline activity of tackling crime. However, I am pleased the Minister is satisfied that the way he has dealt with this service will result in continuing efficiency and financial saving.

I can also understand the reason the Minister might have been slow to privatise the service in the first instance. He might have had concerns about the passing of the operation of the service, traditionally run by the State, to an outside agency, whose aim is to make a profit and that the individuals who would be involved in it would want to make a profit. If there was corner cutting or anything like that, the safety of the public would have to be primary in the Minister's consideration in making such a change. While I can understand why he might be slow to make the change I can also understand why he might do it at a future date if circumstances change. Having read the explanatory memorandum, I am satisfied the Minister has included sufficient safeguards in the Bill to ensure that in the event of such a change, provision for the certification of individuals who would operate this process ensures the necessary safety mechanisms are in place.

The introduction of video conferencing is a great idea. I said that on the last occasion we spoke about this issue in 2005. It seems such an excellent and cost-saving method one wonders why it was not introduced long ago. If it is operated to its optimum level, it will provide great savings and the avoidance of hardship. As the Minister stated, it is not possible to have video conferencing on all occasions because there are times, for obvious reasons, when people must go to court. Apart from the financial saving that would be offered by its introduction, it would result in a reduction in security requirements with people not having to be brought to court.

The crime that probably exasperates most people, as it does me, is that committed by 15 to 18 year olds. These young people are too old to stay at home with their parents and watch television. They are too young to be served alcohol in a pub and, as consequence of that, they go to the local off-licence to buy alcohol. They then go to the local park and fill themselves up with alcohol and on the way home create havoc. If one knocks on the door of a house in any housing estate on the north side or south side of this city, people will say, including myself, that the greatest curse are these young lads going home at 12.30 a.m. or 1 a.m. Wing mirrors of cars have been broken on countless occasions.

I have spoken about this problem to Garda sergeants and inspectors in my local area. I will cite an incident involving an individual that would drive people crazy, as it did my neighbour. This young fellow walked down the road at 9 a.m. and threw a bin on top of my neighbour's brand new car. The neighbour telephoned the gardaí who came down and brought the young man to the Garda station but three hours later he was back sitting on my neighbour's wall waiting for him to come out to give him the old gesture. He then proceeded to throw a rock through my neighbour's front window, gave him the two fingers, called him a scab and ran away.

Such vandalism drives people crazy. There is nothing one can do about it as it is a feature of society. A number of these individuals are to be found hanging around.