Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and support the Bill. There is an irony in calling a juvenile prison "St. Patrick's". After all, we kidnapped him in Britain and held him against his will on Slemish Mountain and made him do forced labour. It is hardly something we would wish to celebrate and I am delighted the Minister is shutting down the institution that is so unaptly named.

I note that in the prisons budget €333 million is allocated for 3,777 people, or €88,000 per prisoner per year. I believe in Portlaoise it is up to €250,000. We should do anything we can to spend that money more effectively in DEIS schools, preschools, social programmes, electronic surveillance outside prisons, having people signing on - they are all much better alternatives than this huge expenditure.

I compliment the Minister again on shutting St. Patrick's. The programme should continue and we should shut down more prisons if we can. It is an extremely costly way of accomplishing remarkably little in terms of the rehabilitation of people.