Feargal Quinn (Independent)

We, in particular Senator Bacik, have called on a number of occasions for a debate on the Prison Service. One of the areas we should debate urgently is the early release of dangerous prisoners due to limited space in prisons. I was impressed by the case of an American who was given to a 27-month sentence, plus 1,500 hours of community service and a $400,000 fine. That is all very well. What was interesting was that he was instructed that his 27-month sentence was to be served at home. I am not sure of the details but he was not a dangerous criminal.

It is interesting to realise that there are options other than prison. One of them is electronic tagging. We have talked about the issue previously. I do not believe the system is in use in this country. I am not sure whether the example I have outlined involved electronic tagging. However, it suggests there are options open to the Department and to judges in terms of the sentences they give. Community service has been used by some judges as part of a sentence. What really impressed me is that in this particular case the man in question was sentenced to 27 months at home. If we are to have a debate on the Prison Service we should include a measure such as that as an option. I do not know how it works and I am not sure how easy it is to enforce but it is an option we should include. It would be worthwhile to have a debate on the Prison Service in this House soon.