Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent comments by the Inspector of Prisons, in which they described the prison service as a failure; his plans to deal with the problems in the prison service identified in the various reports submitted by the Inspector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22127/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I do not accept that the Prison Service as a whole is a failure. Over 3,000 people are provided with safe, secure and humane custody on a daily basis. I agree that there are aspects of the service which require improvement, and this has already been recognised by me and the Government. In this regard, work has already commenced on replacing approximately 40% of the entire prison estate. This involves the replacement of the four prisons on the Mountjoy campus (Mountjoy, Training Unit, St Patrick's Institution and the Dóchas Centre), Portlaoise Prison and Cork Prison.

Many of the recommendations made by the Inspector in the context of his various reports on prisons have been implemented while the implications of others requiring more long term strategies are being considered.