I turn to another gross institutional failure of the State, namely, the Irish Prison Service, which is in crisis as we speak. That is not a word that I use lightly. Right now, 5,415 people are in our prisons, with more than 400 of them sleeping on floors. Prison officers and inmates are living and working in dangerously overcrowded and volatile conditions. We have been repeatedly warned that there are immediate safety risks. Inmates are being held in degrading conditions. We have heard stories of people being confined for up to 22 hours a day, often beside unpartitioned toilets and denied access to basic rehabilitation services. That is nothing short of institutional abandonment. This crisis is not simply the result of rising prisoner numbers; it is the direct consequence of the political decisions of a Government that is determined to appear tough, even if it means acting recklessly.

In correspondence published this week, the director general of the Irish Prison Service issued a stark warning to the Government. Caron McCaffrey said the Government decision to crack down on immigration and imprison asylum seekers will "necessitate the early release of more serious and high-risk offenders". Ms McCaffrey sent her letter in 2024. Since then, the Government has doubled down on this dangerous approach. Recently, 28 people facing deportation were detained for nearly a month in advance of a deportation flight to Nigeria. These people were detained in prison purely for administrative reasons at a cost to the State of more than €200,000. They were also put on a flight costing another €350,000 when it was finally arranged. This is the result of the Government's Trumpian posturing-----

Trumpian.

-----when it comes to this action. It is imprisoning the vulnerable to send a message, all while more serious offenders operating within the machinery of organised crime are let out the back door early. This is performative cruelty at its most blatant.

Organised crime groups are thriving in communities that are already deeply neglected. Releasing those involved in these networks will send a chillingly clear message that these communities will continue to flounder while the mid-level gangs entrenched within them will flourish. It is performance dressed up as policy and it is putting communities at risk. Organised crime groups are deeply embedded in these communities, recruiting younger and younger members. Is it now the Government policy that gang-affiliated offenders should continue to be released from prison early to make room for those facing low-level immigration charges? Does the Taoiseach believe this sends the "tough on crime" message we often hear coming from Government because it clearly does not? It sends a message that this Government is willing to sacrifice public safety for political optics. I do not believe for a second that prison in its current form is working. We know that more than six out of ten people released from prison will reoffend, but this policy is dangerous. How can the Taoiseach possibly justify a policy where being tough on immigration takes precedence over being smart or safe when it comes to crime?

The Deputy's juxtaposition of the migration issue with the genuinely serious problem of overcrowding in prisons is stretching credibility.

Hear, hear.

It is a false juxtaposition.

The Government is putting people in prison for coming into the country.

Deputy, allow the Taoiseach to answer.

Sorry, I did not interrupt the Deputy. I just want to make the point. The Deputy said there are more than 5,000 prisoners. He is saying that if a number of asylum seekers are imprisoned, for whatever reason, they should not be, irrespective of what the reasons might be. That is what he indicated. His suggestion that it is all about some performance for the optics that we just want to get tough on migration, imprisoning a few and letting criminals go free is a preposterous proposition and assertion, and it is wrong.

Let us take it bit by bit. Every country in the world has rules in respect of migration. We issue work permits for people who want to legally come into the country to work. We issue visas for people who want to stay in the country and so on, be it a holiday visa or whatever type of visa. There is a variety of visas. We have visa agreements with other countries. There is freedom of mobility within the European Union. All of that has been positive for this country, but there has to be rules around migration. The Government is very clear on that. The Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, has been very clear on that. It is not optics; it is just common sense. We will reject any assertion that Ireland is an open-border territory. It is not. We have never had open borders because there has always been a system.

There is a very serious issue in terms of prison overcrowding. Two weeks ago, the Minister brought proposals to Government to speed up the construction of 960 prison spaces.

That will happen. It will take four years, between the planning, getting the construction work done and completing part of it. That is an immediate response. There will also be more medium-term responses in terms of prison capacity.

Third, a range of measures have been taken in recent years in the context of getting tough on crime. I refer here to legislation to criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime, rolling out a support programme to break the link between gangs and the children they try to recruit, strengthening CAB's ability to target the proceeds of crime and speeding up the process to dispose of assets for the benefit of the State.

The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau is leading in tackling of all forms of drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland. More than €627 million in illicit drugs have been seized by the bureau, as well as firearms and so on. The Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, recently launched a drive in respect of a drug-related intimidation and violence engagement project. That will have impact. The Garda workforce is also increasing.

It is sometimes difficult not to interrupt the Taoiseach when he is purposely distorting-----

Sorry?

It is sometimes difficult not to interrupt when the Taoiseach is purposely distorting what exactly it is that he is trying to say. Politics is about choices. He knows this. We have prisons that are overcrowded to the point where multiple sources, including those in the area of security and civil servants, have confirmed that a number of prisoners, including those suspected to be members of organised crime gangs, have been released. While the Government is doing this, other people detained in our prisons are awaiting deportation flights. Once those flights happen, we have a justice Minister who talks to "Morning Ireland" or whatever newspaper as if he is a general coming home from war. Our prisons are overcrowded.

We have a situation that is detrimental to the human condition. For the purposes of the Government's performative cruelty, we are now putting people who are awaiting deportation flights into prison. They are in every prison, including Mountjoy and Dóchas. People are being taken out of IPAS centres and brought to prison. All the while, the Government is releasing drug dealers back into communities. That is its choice. That is no distortion. The Government has to own that because that is the choice it is making.

The Deputy started by saying it is very difficult not to interrupt. I respectfully suggest-----

Sorry?

The Deputy said it was with great difficulty he could not but interrupt. He has never had any difficulty interrupting from my experience in the House.

There is a prison overpopulation issue. That is accepted by the Government. The Minister has brought forward proposals which will result in about 960 additional prison spaces. That can be done as quickly as possible. Opposition is being created where this expansion is happening. I have no doubt that other members of the Deputy's party may very well be criticising some of the decisions the Minister has taken regarding the location of those prisons. That is the consistency of political opposition. I suppose it is a condition of it.

On migration, what is the Deputy suggesting? Is it that there be no sanctions at all for those who are breaking our laws in respect of migration?

That was not a question for answer.

This is ridiculous.

There has to be a balance. I suggest that the Deputy's basic assertion is wrong and flawed.