asked the Minister for Justice whether he is aware that the number of the prison staffs is out of proportion to the number of prisoners, and in particular in Portlaoighise Prison, where there is one official for every two prisoners; and whether he will take steps to reduce the number of officials, and to rearrange the prisoners in the various wings in Portlaoighise Jail and elsewhere, to effect any necessary economies.

The answer to each part of this question is in the negative.

Is the Minister for Justice not aware of the fact that the number of prisoners in Portlaoighise Jail is about 120 and that the number of officials is about 60?

Arising out of the Minister's answer, may I ask if he would be prepared to meet the Deputy by increasing the number of prisoners?

And putting Deputy Wolfe in. I asked the Minister a supplementary question which he has not answered.

Surely the Deputy must be aware that the number of warders cannot of necessity bear a proportion to the number of prisoners. The prisoners require looking after the whole time, and the warders only work a certain number of hours daily. There are only a certain number of hours during which the warders work—eight hours daily. One warder can look after five or six prisoners just as easily as he could look after one.

If the Minister rearranged the prisoners in the jails, and put them all into one wing where they would, I understand, fit perfectly, would it not make it easier on the staff and save money, instead of saving it on the diet?

Quite possibly, if we herded prisoners of all classes together we could save money. But our idea is to keep the different classes segregated. The Deputy's suggestion is the most retrograde one that I have heard made.

My suggestion was made on behalf of people who know what they are talking about.

Might I ask the Deputy who they are? Does the Deputy include himself in that?