Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, discuss the group and we will deal with them that way.

This is a very important point and one that I have spent a lot of time considering. The Senator has made a compelling case on this issue and I wanted to ascertain what we are doing. In that context, I have spoken at length to my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, on the justice matters. To answer the specific question, the Department of Justice and Equality is included but some of its functions are excluded. We have looked at the specifics referred to by the Senator. To take the Irish Prison Service, for example, there has been a lot of interaction between my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality about that service because my instinct, like the Senator's, would be to include it. There have been a lot of independent reports from the Inspector of Prisons and there is considerable public confidence in the inspector's analysis, which is very damning.

As I noted in my Second Stage contribution in this House, the Minister for Justice and Equality has confirmed that he intends to introduce a credible prisoner complaint system that will deal with genuine complaints in an open, transparent and independent manner. The report of the inspector noted that the issues which give rise to complaints occur on an almost daily basis and indicated that an on-the-spot mechanism was needed to deal with them. It is not sufficient to write to the Ombudsman and wait while she conducts a formal investigation, writes to the Irish Prison Service and gets its response. This is a daily administrative issue and we need an efficient, on-the-spot ombudsman system. The Minister, Deputy Shatter, intends to introduce such a system and I am determined to give him the space to do so. If a view is taken subsequently that the Irish Prison Service should be part of the Ombudsman's remit, I have an open mind in this regard.

In respect to the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, the programme for Government contains a commitment on introducing comprehensive reform of the immigration, residency and asylum system, including the creation of a statutory appeals system. This is intended to provide for efficient processing and determination of citizenship applications within a defined statutory timeframe. The reforms will be progressed through the enactment of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010. Following the preparation of key Government amendments to that Bill, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, intends to return to the Oireachtas with comprehensive legislation as a centrepiece of wide ranging reform of asylum and immigration policy. The Minister's objective is to be in a position to bring this new Bill before the Government for approval later this year. On foot of his decision to introduce more effective legislation, I accept his advice against including the service entirely within the remit of the Ombudsman at this time.