Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that and I welcome him back to the House. I thank Senator Ruane and her team for the Bill. I listened to that moving and personal story. I pay tribute to the Senator because time again she brings her personal story and experience to the House. I genuinely believe that we all have our own personal stories but perhaps some of us do not speak of them with such ease as others do. Senator Ruane, however, has used her personal life experiences in her parliamentary work. This is what makes it more moving, real and engaging. This is why she has been such a success here. I want to acknowledge that and pay tribute to the Senator for that.

The Senator spoke of being an offender, in her own words, but now she is a legislator. She has travelled the road and has experienced at first-hand how a second chance and a new beginning allows a person new opportunities in his or her life. Senator Ruane is a living example of that. What better words to convince me and other Senators in the House that this is the right track to go.

The Government is not opposing the Bill at this stage. I believe the Bill needs to be scrutinised in some detail, which is good, and it is our job and function to do that in the Seanad. I pay special tribute to the Irish Penal Reform Trust for its work on this issue. As Senator Ruane has said, a spent conviction gives people a second chance and who are we to take that second chance away?

I sat on the visiting committee of St. Patrick's juvenile centre and I spent years in and out of the centre, week in and week out. I met people who were incarcerated in a prison system that had its vocational school closed down and its woodwork room and its gym rooms all broken and abandoned. What a place for young people. I am glad to say that centre is now closed. The Irish Penal Reform Trust has probably constantly argued how to deal with the prison service and make prisons better places. People have talked previously about restorative justice, which is very important, but I really believe there is great potential in this Bill.

I draw Members' attention to the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality report on penal reform and sentencing of May 2018. It is a good document and one that we should look at. It addresses a number of issues. I am particularly reminded of its final paragraphs where it refers to homelessness. I have met people who were released from prison on short periods - even for Christmas - into emergency accommodation, but we are all aware of the crisis in housing. When we give people a second chance we must always be conscious of where they are going. The reality is that many families, for whatever reason, do not want these people back. We must have safe accommodation for them. Especially around Christmas and holiday release we know that within days some people come back to prisons, knock on the door and ask to be taken back in because they have not been welcomed at home or found a safe space or safe place to go to. If we are to reintegrate people into our community we have to have those safe spaces and places for people so they can play their role.

So many people were condemned for small offences. Yes we have to have safe communities and we have to protect our citizens. However, we must start looking at how we can empty out our prison system and how we can rehabilitate, support and assist people within the prison service and ultimately transition people back into the community. That is a bigger issue in penal reform. The Minister knows well the situation and he knows better than anybody the demands on the prison service.

The report also looked at the parole situation. The committee called for the creation of a new statutory parole board, fully independent of political control and governance. There are issues all around that. I am always conscious of the other side of the debate which is the victims of crime. I have already said that communities have to be safe, and I am always mindful of that, but in essence this is a really good Bill. It may need to be tweaked a bit.Let us not block people from having a new beginning, a new chance a new opportunity to turn around their lives and play a meaningful role. Let us be understanding. Why are many of the people in question in prison? What opportunities, including educational opportunities, did they have? Did they have an equal start at an early age? Were they supported in trying to achieve their potential? "No" is the answer for most of them. We are not all made the same and do not all have the same supports. We do not all have the same confidence, love and affection that make us meaningful citizens in our communities. It is a multifaceted approach to why in the first place people were involved in such crimes and incarcerated. I commend the Bill to the House and will support it all the way, but I will also be open to a reasonable, common-sense approach to amendments to it.