Prisons, fair deal and insolvency legislation
Gerry Adams raised prison conditions, the fair deal review and promised insolvency legislation. The Taoiseach said the prisons Bill was being prepared, the fair deal review was nearing completion and further mortgage measures would come in April.
I have three cheist. The first is on the prisons Bill, in which Deputy Durkan also has an interest.
Comment on this
The second is on a review of the fair deal system and the third is on promised insolvency legislation. In November the inspector of prisons, Mr. Justice Reilly, said:
Prisoners forfeit their rights to freedom. That is all they forfeit. They are entitled to all other rights and privileges that you and I enjoy.
We have 300 prisoners on lockdown for at least 19 hours and some on a 23 hour lockdown. Some 304 prisoners still have to slop out from their cells and, for a brief time, that included five women who were arrested and imprisoned for non-payment of fines including fines relating to the television licence. When will the prisons Bill be published to bring the penal regime here into line with human rights and UN practice?
The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, said last week that the review of the fair deal system was on the Secretary General's desk. The programme for Government contained a commitment to provide additional funding each year for the care of older people and it is very clear from the crisis in our hospital system that not only do older people deserve this, it would also assist in freeing up hospital beds. The Minister said there was a €30 million gap in funding so can we have a definitive timeframe for when this review will be published? Will the Government allocate time to debate it?
The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, said the promised insolvency legislation would have to be changed. He said banks must be forced to engage in insolvency arrangements and the Government had to act. We all know about the huge increase in people who are subjected to intimidation during repossession actions by the banks and the Government has encouraged this because there is not enough legislative protection. If the Minister is heralding the fact that he is going to put in protections and take away the veto the Government has given to the banks, that would be a very good move. When does the Government intend to amend the legislation and will there be Government time to discuss it?
Comment on this
I can confirm preliminary work is under way in respect of the prisons Bill though I cannot give a date for when it will be published. The review of the fair deal is still with the Minister for Health. There will be time to debate it when he publishes it and I understand that is not too far away.
I have already answered questions on distressed mortgages today. This will be the subject of a number of measures being brought forward by Government in April following a review of the personal insolvency agency and a range of other issues that have arisen. Some 100,000 cases have been settled effectively and satisfactorily but there are 37,000 cases out there where we need to take some further action and Government will deal with that in April, when there will be an opportunity for Members to discuss it.