Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 76:

In page 29, line 4, to delete "shall" and substitute "shall, subject to subsection (2),".

This amendment is technical and dependent on the acceptance of amendment No. 77, which provides vital discretion to the governor of a prison to decide whether he or she wants to demand payment for the services described in the legislation. There could be a number of reasons he or she would not want to but the Bill, as drafted, requires governors to charge for services and leaves no room for movement.

Amendment No. 78 is an important proposal, which guarantees none of the provisions in the section would be used to prevent access to medical treatment for prisoners, which Senator Henry alluded to earlier. It may well be argued by the Minister that such a subsection is unnecessary, but it is an important safeguard to the rights of the prisoners and I urge him to accept the amendment.

While the legislation is clear prisons may not profit from the provision of goods or services to inmates by stating in this section that payments or deductions shall not exceed the full cost of doing so, it is unclear whether there could not be other methods of revenue generation. Amendment No. 79 would clarify the position and ensure there is no loophole that would allow governors, prison warders or other prison officials to take advantage.