Maurice Hayes (Independent)

The points I intended to make have been anticipated by other Senators and I will not waste the time of the House with them, but I support the request for a debate on prisons arising from the UCD report which is being published today. It is to be welcomed that the country is developing criminological research at this level.

We need to consider the whole question of prisons. There are too many people in prison. Some people need to be kept in prisons but we only blur the issue by imprisoning many other people who should not be there.