Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I noted a recent article on the Swedish penal system and the fact that the number of people committed to prison in Sweden has dropped by 1% a year since 2004. In 2001 and 2012, the rate decreased by between 6% and 12%. The decrease is to such a degree that four prisons and a remand centre there have been closed down. This has come about because of determined penal reform, education programmes and programmes to assist prisoners when they leave prison to ensure they do not re-offend. There have also been programmes of restorative justice. I call on the Leader for a debate on penal reform in this country. Keeping people in prison here is expensive. If we could reduce the number of people in prison, we would improve life for those in prison. This would make economic sense because, despite the fact that we will come out of the bailout on 15 December, the country is still struggling.

I was invited to speak at a conference organised by Féach, an organisation which provides support for the parents of young and visually impaired children who face challenges from birth up to the age of ten or 15 years as a result of the fact that they have difficulty seeing. One of the issues raised with me at the conference was related to school books made available electronically. Some publishers make entire books available in this way but others just make the text version available. A science manual might refer the reader to a diagram, but this will not be available in a text-only version. I would like the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, and the Minister of State at his Department, Deputy Sean Sherlock, to immediately enter negotiations with publishers in order to ensure all schoolbooks, in their entirety, will be made available at the same cost to all students. What is happening in this regard is farcical.