Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I concur with the comments made by Senator Cummins and support the establishment of this commission of investigation. It would be appropriate for us, as Members of this House of the Oireachtas, to join with the Minister in extending our sympathy to the family of Gary Douch. A person in the custody of the State should not find himself or herself in a position where he or she is murdered, and there is a duty of care attached to us.

It has been said that the commission of investigation is the appropriate arm and, in that regard, we should again commend the Minister on the introduction of that legislation in 2004. As the tribunals, which were undoubtedly necessary and have done some good work, trundle on, I am firmly of the view that nine years after some of them were established, it is time to call a halt. I know that in the run-up to an election, it is difficult for decisions in that regard to be taken because they could be misconstrued and other motivations attached to them. I hope there will be a total reappraisal of all the tribunals following the election and that where there are serious matters still outstanding, they can be dealt with much more rapidly, effectively and cost-effectively by a commission of investigation. There is no reason we would not put those modules into a commission of investigation so that, ultimately, there would be an outcome and determination of them.

I have great misgivings about the publicity pertaining to holding all these tribunals in public. People are often pilloried and held up to severe public ridicule before they get a chance to make their own case. This is not a satisfactory situation, particularly where the entire purpose of such bodies is to establish the truth. Commissions of investigations can do their work in such a way that the truth will be established and will be published after the commissions have heard all sides of the argument.

That is an aside from the purpose of this motion. It is not just about the vicious assault that gave rise to the murder of this man. There have been other assaults and incidents of rape in prison. I hope all these matters will be addressed. I am pleased with the terms of reference the Tánaiste has put in place.

I concur with Senator Cummins on the reappointment of Mr. Justice Kinlen as Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention. That is a good move which also shows the Tánaiste is not afraid of an outspoken man who has been critical of the system at times. That is what one needs in these situations.

I suggest to the Tánaiste that he might add to the list of recommendations. In addition to promoting the health and safety of prisoners, providing a secure and safe environment and safeguarding the public interest, we should add a fourth, namely, providing an environment in prisons where effective rehabilitative measures are in place to avoid recidivism. That should be a fundamental, core objective of prisons and it will only come about through having structured and well-researched courses as well as having other aspects of prison management operating to try to ensure people do not come out of prison better educated as criminals, which is often the case. Prisons should also be places of last resort. It is unfortunate we have to set up a commission on such a serious matter where a person lost his life in the care of the State.