Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome Dr. Manning and thank him for his contribution. Moreover, I welcome all the organisations represented today. They have made a very valuable contribution during the years and long may this continue. In my previous role in the European Parliament I had the privilege of serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as its Subcommittee on Human Rights for two years. It was a highly influential committee from the perspective of allowing issues to be raised. There is an opportunity for this House to use a similar procedure to highlight issues that require a public airing.

One issue I wish to raise pertains to prison reform and the lack of progress made during the years. One of the jobs I had a number of years ago was to visit Cork Prison on Christmas Day. It was an eye-opener to see the sense of hopelessness of people who do not see a future. We have done little to change the system. Prison vans return to prisons from courts late in the evening. Prisoners are released late in the evening with no place to go. It is an issue we have not tackled. We have made little progress on education in prison. While there has been some reform, the level of reform we need has not been dealt with and is an issue we must tackle.

The Garda was mentioned. The progress we have made is interesting. A person who worked with me as a research assistant in Brussels is now based in Ramallah in Palestine and recently brought some members of its police force to Ireland to see the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and set up a similar system in that region. What we do here influences what happens in other countries and it is interesting to note how we can use our influence.