Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. The responsibility of former Ministers such as Dermot Ahern will be one of the issues the commission of investigation will investigate and we all very much hope it will do so expeditiously and we will find answers to the questions as to who knew what and when, particularly when systems were upgraded. I very much welcome the appointment of Supreme Court judge, Mr. Nial Fennelly, to lead the commission, the establishment of a Cabinet committee on justice reform and the fact that we, on the justice committee, will also work to improve and strengthen Garda procedures.

I refer to the new revelations about the inadvertent taping of prisoners' calls, which again gives rise to serious concerns about breaches of prisoners' right to privacy and the potential liability of the State in civil actions taken by prisoners. This system was installed in July 2010 under the watch of then Minister, Dermot Ahern, and the previous Government and it seems that system has remained in place under the radar of the prisoner authorities since that date. I commend Mr. Michael Donnellan, the head of the Irish Prison Service, who took pre-emptive action last week to proactively investigate whether calls were being taped within prisons and uncovered the fact that the calls of quite a number of prisoners were being taped in this way.

All these matters need to be investigated by the commission of investigation, which I very much welcome. It is clear we need to know more about the dates and the extent of knowledge at the top levels in the Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service and the Garda.

Today a ceremony will take place in Glasnevin Cemetery to commemorate the centenary of the foundation of Cumann na mBan. I am sure many female members, in particular, would love to be there but I welcome the fact that we are having an official occasion to mark that important centenary and that we are seeing, as a result, a great deal of renewal of interest in the members of Cumann na mBan and the role they played in the struggle for independence.