Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin. According to current figures, between 800 and 1,000 Irish people are incarcerated in prisons overseas. The majority of these prisoners are held in England and Wales, with others in Europe, South America, Central America and Africa. The conditions in prisons in these countries vary greatly, with many decidedly below basic standards outlined by the United States. It was stated in the Irish Examiner last year that a disproportionate number of suicides occurred among Irish inmates at Brixton Prison in the early part of this decade.

The Report on Irish Prisoners Abroad by Chris Flood provides a troubling depiction of the conditions faced by and concerns among Irish citizens incarcerated in other jurisdictions. It is our responsibility as parliamentarians to try to ease the hardship of Irish prisoners abroad and their families by addressing and implementing the recommendations outlined in the Flood report. The key recommendations in the report are to:

Recognise there is a need to ensure best international practice is employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs in relation to the support it gives to Irish prisoners abroad; establish a new unit within the Department of Foreign Affairs . . . with the objective of overseeing prisoner welfare matters and keeping up to date with international developments in this area . . . establish a register of Irish prisoners abroad . . . [to] include information on family visits . . . establish that every prisoner overseas has a right to a consular visit at least once a year and twice in more difficult . . . countries [such as in Central America]; ensure that prisoners should be visited as soon as possible after arrest.

The Minister knows as well as I that many people enjoy a great deal of international travel and more Irish people will end up in prisons abroad. We need to ensure our citizens overseas have access to legal, consular and other support systems, including translation services. The families of prisoners overseas are often forgotten about. Some families cannot afford to visit them and are without any kind of support whatsoever. Families bear much of the burden of their family member's imprisonment, providing money for clothes, food, toiletries and telephone calls. We need to provide support for those families. If the recommendations in the report compiled by Mr. Chris Flood were implemented, that would go a long way towards addressing the very real human rights issues concerning Irish citizens. I make no judgment on why those people are in prison.