I join others in asking the Leader for a debate on prisons, in light of the report on St. Patrick's Institution and ask, in particular, that it be a debate about young people and about how we treat them and take care of them when they break the law. Do we treat them, as it appears from the statement by the Ombudsman for Children, as people who have broken the law, or as people who need assistance, care and attention to be rehabilitated so that they can come back into the world and make their own way there rather than end up on a pathway to crime? That pathway is often laid out at the beginning and if it is ignored the situation is exacerbated.

I thank the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention for his perseverance in regard to St. Patrick's Institution and for his efforts, especially in going in there at times when he was not expected and in the middle of the night in order to make sure that what he reported would be accurate. He has done a good service.

I have another question for the Leader which also relates to young people and is linked to those children.

We have talked before about bullying, particularly cyberbullying. I ask the Leader to write to the Minister for Education and Skills asking for education centres to be brought into the loop, with the rest of the school community, in order to deal with the issue. Last weekend I attended an event run by the Sligo Education Centre. It was attended by parents and teachers who were desperate for information on how young people were treated, cyberbullying and how social networks were used in that regard. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the issue. At 5 p.m. there will be a brief meeting in the AV room to discuss it. As a member of the cross-party committee on mental health, I urge Senators to attend.

Many Senators have spoken about the report compiled by Judge Michael Reilly on St. Patrick's Institution. It is time for us to examine the structure of prisons and what they provide. In 1996 I was involved in a project in Cork where 20 prisoners undertook an education programme. The approach resulted in 12 of them returning to full-time education after they had left prison. There has been no innovative change in how we deal with people who have been involved in crime once they enter prison. We have provided for the same mechanisms that have changed very little in the past 20 years. Now that we have this report it is time to examine what occurred in St. Patrick's Institution and find a way forward. We must adopt a different approach for the next 25 to 30 years. Now is the time to have such a debate.

I support the comments made on St. Patrick's Institution. Wherever young offenders are held - I do not intend to cast aspersions on prison staff in St. Patrick's Institutions - there may have been a lack of training and people may not have known how to deal with young offenders. Perhaps it is a knee-jerk reaction that the young people concerned got what they deserved because they may have inflicted pain on people on the outside. We must bear in mind that, by and large, prisoners are the most damaged in our society. Very often they had no opportunities where they lived and did not receive a proper education. If we inflict inhumane punishment on them, all we are doing is continuing a vicious cycle. When prisoners return to their communities, it will simply be a question of their getting their own back on people all over again. I am glad that the topic of prisons was raised in the Chamber because politicians have shied away from it because there are no votes to be gained. We must adopt a humane approach to the young people concerned. I am glad the report has been published and we should avail of the opportunity to debate it as such a debate would prove helpful.