Currie, AustinWednesday, 19 February 1997 |
Dáil Éireann Debate
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Private Members' Business. - Prisons Bill, 1997: Second Stage (Resumed).
The privatisers are over there.
It must be obvious to anyone who listens to this debate that this Bill is not a serious effort at law or prison reform. It is intended as a cynical vehicle to indulge in baseless propaganda. The last...
What would this Bill achieve? It has been claimed that it would force the Government to provide sufficient prison accommodation. Where is that provided for in the Bill? The Bill states that the Mini...
The Minister for Justice already has all the legal powers she needs in this regard and, as she pointed out on in her contribution to this debate, the provision in section 5 of the Bill would not secur...
At least we are honest and up-front.
The suggestion that there should be an independent prisons board or agency has been around for more than a decade but it was this Government that decided to establish one.
We decided comparatively recently to do so and immediately put in train the necessary steps to implement the decision. This is not a straightforward matter and it gives rise to complex issues which h...
I listened with amusement to the various ways in which she tried unsuccessfully to get away from that question. It still remains a fundamental question which, sooner or later, she will have to answer...
We have been criticised for lack of openness yet when the Minister goes out of her way to be open she is again criticised.
The first week the Minister was in office journalists were invited to the Department of Justice — the first time this had ever been done. They were amazed at this new practice which symbolised the de...
She has continued that practice from that day to this. A combination of the television programme “The Joy” and the reports on other prisons which have appeared in the media in recent weeks will give ...
As with any organisation there are things to admire and things to criticise. Above all people will appreciate more fully the complexities which arise and see them for what they are, simplistic so-cal...
I did not say that.
The Deputy is out of date.
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