Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Senator Darragh O'Brien knows, I share his concerns about the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. It is ironic that people are having breakfast this morning and reading reports that the European Central Bank is going to leave rates as they are, even though many know they could not survive a rise of two interest points in the ECB rate; that is the situation in this country. It is a very serious matter and I would go so far as to say it is the most serious matter facing the country. I share Senator Darragh O'Brien's concern and ask the Leader to have the Minister come to the House at his earliest possible convenience, as I have called for on numerous occasions. However, I appreciate the position the Leader is in and know that he has made his absolute best efforts to ensure that debate will take place. Therefore, I would not be in favour of putting him under any more pressure than he is under. We have to accept that he is doing his absolute best as Leader of the House.

I wish our American brethren a happy Fourth of July and the best on their national holiday.

I welcome the announcement made yesterday that St. Patrick's Institution was to close, a most welcome development. Some of the findings by the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, are nothing short of shocking and appalling. During his visit, after last year's report in which serious concerns were raised, he found a prisoner in a filthy committal cell, with a considerable quantity of stale food on the floor. There was a broken toilet which was filthy and full of excrement. He found another prisoner who had been taken from his cell and strip searched, although no records had been created. In another cell he found two prisoners who were afraid to leave because they had been badly beaten and one had been stabbed three times.

This is both serious and a national disgrace. On a previous occasion I called for the setting up of a commission of inquiry to examine what had gone on in St. Patrick's Institution over many decades. Calls for its closure have been made for in excess of 20 years. It is a national disgrace that, as a country, we wait for people who have suffered at the hands of the State to take individual actions. We should have a permanent commission of inquiry in areas where the State has provided care, particularly for children.

I will conclude by noting that two out of every three children who leave the care of the State and a greater number of those who have been in the prison service experience homelessness within two years. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in this House committed to having an after-care service for these children. I ask the Leader to have the Minister in the House as soon as possible to explain what progress has been made in providing after-care services for children who have been in the care of the State.