Tánaiste mocks Kenny’s prisoner plans
Mr McDowell said that eliminating remission would not work as it would lead to an avalanche of lawsuits and would be batted back by the courts.
He argued that judges were fully aware of the potential 25% remission for good behaviour available to convicted prisoners and took that into account when imposing prison terms.
He also contended that there were sound reasons to include temporary release and that it could have positive rehabilitative qualities.
He also attacked Mr Kenny for his own record when last in government, claiming that some 18% of prisoners were at large because of the unavailability of prison spaces and the so-called “revolving door” phenomenon.
“Enda Kenny’s claim that he would end the automatic right to remission is typical of the current Fine Gael stable of ideas which has in recent months spawned equally unworkable ideas like boot camps and gun dumps in churches and youth clubs, drunk tanks for people admitted to accident and emergency units, and a total ban on people under 21 being allowed into pubs,” he said.
“These ‘macho’ ideas have all been advanced by the Fine Gael party in the lifetime of this Dáil. They defy common sense. Even Labour and the Greens won’t wear them.”
Mr McDowell defended the controversial closure of Spike Island and would not accept that it contributed to over-crowding in prisons. He asserted that the FF-PD coalition had built more prison spaces than any Government in recent decades.
He said the new regional prison for Munster at Kilworth as well as Thornton Hall in North Dublin would alleviate the problems.
