I raise with the Taoiseach the situation in our prisons. Our overcrowded prisons are after reaching crisis point. I have complaints from prison staff going back over the past year or two on this issue. The situation in the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise is like a pressure cooker. It is unsafe for staff and vulnerable prisoners. It is vastly overcrowded, operating at over 120% capacity. It has capacity for 890 inmates but the number stands at just over 1,100. Prisoners are sleeping on bunks and mattresses on the floor. There are two prisoners in a cell with a toilet and no privacy.

This is leading to assaults on staff. There were 11 assaults on staff last year and 102 prisoner-to-prisoner assaults and 60 weapons seized. Assaults are up 23%. I have been told the job of staff is being made impossible and managing the situation is very difficult. There is a promise in the programme for Government for 1,500 additional places. When will we see those? When will we start using restorative justice more to divert people away from prisons and when will we see progress on those two issues?

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I know he will have a particular focus on Portlaoise as well as it is in his constituency. We do have a challenge with overcrowding in our prisons. There is very significant and good work going on in the areas of rehabilitation and youth justice programmes aimed at keeping people out of prison but the fact remains that some crimes must attract a prison sentence and some criminals need to go to jail. The Government and the Minister are acutely aware of the capacity constraints in our prisons and the resulting challenge faced by those who work and live in our prisons. The Minister is pursuing a dual approach to address the issue of capacity by increasing prison spaces and then pursuing further measures to support non-custodial sanctions. The Irish Prison Service is committed to preventing identified members of criminal gangs from conducting criminal activities while in custody and also to preventing them exerting inappropriate influence on other persons.