Will the Minister agree that one of the major problems for Garda efficiency and effectiveness as well as for Garda morale is when they actually succeed in apprehending offenders and they go through the court process and are duly dealt with in court, but because of lack of adequate prison accommodation the people the Garda have spent so much time apprehending are out on the streets again?

That is another matter. It is certainly another question.

It is not.

The Deputy is seeking to graft it into this question but it is definitely another question.

Would the Minister agree that part of the overall programme for control of crime is the courts, prison officers and prison accommodation?

(Limerick East): That is obvious. The Deputy need not rush into the House to say the Garda are——

Is the Minister telling us he did not cancel a prison accommodation plan sanctioned two years ago?

That is another matter. I am ruling it out of order. If Deputy O'Kennedy could put down another question on that he could receive an answer.

Is the Minister saying that prison accommodation has nothing to do with Garda morale?

(Limerick East): If the Deputy's Administration had put money into prisons instead of——

I am going on to the next question.

Will the Minister agree that money was provided for prison accommodation two years ago?

If the Deputy wants to ask a question about prison accommodation he should put down a question about it. Question No. 31.

Order. The position is that Question No. 30 asked the Minister for Justice the plans he has to improve Garda efficiency and effectiveness and the Minister said he was not prepared to discuss the general policies and actions of the Garda at Question Time. I will not allow this question to be used to open up a wide discussion which is entirely inappropriate for Question Time.

On a point of order, in relation to Garda efficiency and effectiveness — their role is to guard the peace — when they have dealt with people there is not accommodation for them and surely that undermines efficiency and effectiveness? It is clearly a matter of efficiency and effectiveness if, when they have dealt with people, apprehended them and put them through the courts, there is no place to accommodate them.

(Limerick East): Thanks to the Deputy and his colleagues.

The Minister is the man who has responsibility. The programme was planned and provided for, but the Minister cancelled it when he came into office in 1982.

(Limerick East): There are 123 extra people in the prison service in the last three years.

I ask the Members to listen to this. If I am to make any effort to get Question Time under control — God knows there is enough criticism of it — I ask Deputies to listen to this:

Supplementary Questions may be put only for the further elucidation of the information requested, and shall be subject to the ruling of the Ceann Comhairle, both as to relevance and as to number.

I have an absolute discretion in this and I intend to do my best to exercise it. There is no use in some people availing of one aspect of a topic to come in and raise a whole wide question that is not relevant. I will not allow it and I will not have an argument on it either.

May I address you in relation to your absolute discretion, which is what you referred to? I ask that in exercising that absolute discretion the Chair will not close his mind to the fact that the Garda do not operate in isolation and that if they find that the people they apprehend are back on the streets for want of prison accommodation——

I will not be lectured to as to——

I have to accept that you are exercising your absolute discretion but I have to say that I do not think it is a fair exercise of your discretion.

I am ruling reasonably that if Deputy O'Kennedy wants to raise the question of prison accommodation he should put down a question.