Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to say a few words on the Bill. I also apologise for missing the Minister of State's opening comments. When will the Bill be enacted? I know of a family that has been devastated by a spent conviction not being eradicated. It is a very small public order offence that the then 19 year old son acquired. When he was 30 years old he applied for a visa to Canada to practice his new career but was refused due to the outstanding conviction. He simply kicked a football across a roundabout late at night but the gardaí saw him and the matter led to a court case. He said nothing to his family and paid a fine but ten years later the matter came back to haunt him. It is not a prison sentence but a public order offence. It may have been the result of the folly of youth, freakish or accidental.

I wish to note that there is a difference between categories of convictions. I concur with comments made by Senator O'Donovan about the appropriateness of sentences and the rehabilitation of prisoners. He also wondered if we rehabilitate prisoners appropriately. I disagree with the idea of super-prisons. It is much more important to have early intervention at community level. If one asks people who work with children from a young age they will say that they know who will be in trouble later. When Sally Shields was president of the Irish National Teachers Organisation in 1996, she put a similar statement on record. There is a pattern when it comes to families that get into difficulty early. When there was a crime outbreak in Limerick, I remember a mother who said that her son, who went on to offend, hung a greyhound on a gate when he was eight years of age. There definitely is a pattern so we must invest in early intervention. Obviously my comments are unrelated to the Bill but still are relevant. I want prisoners to be rehabilitated appropriately to ensure they do not reoffend when released.

The percentage of re-offending is extremely high here. I examined the figures some time ago but I cannot repeat them. However, the statistics show that the prison format does not work adequately. Perhaps the Minister of State will tell us the timeframe for the Bill and when it will be enacted. That would be most welcome.