Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I support other colleagues, Senators Healy Eames, Hannigan and Ormonde, who called for a debate on prison policy, which I called for yesterday. It is especially urgent that we debate it given the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that plans for the prison at Thornton Hall will go ahead and that the new prison will be up and running in five years. Given the level of uncertainty about the proposed development at Thornton Hall, the announcement must be taken with a large pinch of salt.

One welcome point is that the number of places proposed to be built is to be reduced, from 2,200 to 2,080, but there must be a debate on why we need extra prison places when, as colleagues on all sides, including Senator Mary White, have said, there is a question of whether we are locking up too many people when there appears to be little prospect of rehabilitation of our prison inmates. I urge strongly the holding of a debate on prison policy with a view to considering decreasing our incarceration levels and achieving greater levels of rehabilitation through other, non-custodial sanctions. I would welcome such a debate.

I also call for debates arising from two committee meetings yesterday. The first was the initial public meeting of the sub-committee of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights dealing with the participation of women in politics. I am the rapporteur to that sub-committee and it was my initiative. It is chaired by Deputy Kenneally and our meeting yesterday had contributions from three women who are former Members of the Oireachtas and who had a ministerial capacity. It was very interesting to hear about their experience and the obstacles women face in politics. I have called for such a debate in this House. We will report from the sub-committee in the autumn and I hope we will have a debate on that report on women's participation at that point, given our very low levels of participation by women in parliamentary politics.

When will the climate change Bill be introduced in this House? There was a debate at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security yesterday where Mr. Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth in Britain made an address dealing with the experience of the British law on climate change. When will we see similar legislation in this country?