I would like to raise the issue of the follow-up inspection report to an earlier report by the Inspector of Prisons on Mountjoy Prison. I wish to acknowledge and appreciate the amazing work done by the chief inspector of our Prison Service, Mark Kelly. I have twice requested that the report be discussed by the House because of its importance.

Certain reports are required in legislation to be laid before the Houses. This report was laid before the Oireachtas on 4 February 2026. Within days of that I might have first asked for a debate. The report should be read by every Member of the House. It is a summary report. The inspector began unannounced inspections of the prison, which are carried out every three years. He does not have the resources or time to visit every prison. He detailed a great number of issues and concerns about the deplorable conditions of the prison. I will not relay all of them now because I look forward to a substantive debate in the House on this report. I again call on the Leader for a debate in the House with the Minister for Justice.

The report was debated at great length on RTÉ in its current affairs programmes and was covered by the media. The inspector said on the first day of his 2025 follow-up inspection, following a damning early report, there were 986 people in custody in Mountjoy, the prison was operating at 122% capacity and there were 90 men sleeping on mattresses on the floors. By December 2025, Mountjoy Prison was attempting to house 1,089 men, with 145 people consigned to mattresses on the floor. It is a disgrace. It is about human dignity and rights. I ask the Leader for a very detailed debate on this as early as possible in our schedule.