asked the Minister for Justice if he proposes to establish a prisons board as recommended by the report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Penal System published in July, 1985; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The recommendations by the Committee of Inquiry into the Penal System that a prisons board should be established gives rise to a number of issues which I have had to consider. I am not as yet satisfied that the balance of the public interest lies with the establishment of such a body. However, consideration of these issues will continue and any proposals which may emerge will be announced in the usual way.