Prison Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-19
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Gary Gannon (SD), Dublin Central

I would definitely like to hear a lot more about these separate places because we still have not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, OPCAT, on the prevention of torture. Today, I am here talking about the Dóchas Centre. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking about the women's prison in Limerick. The conditions in the men's prisons are extraordinary. We had the Inspector of Prisons before the committee a couple of months ago and his contribution was jaw-dropping. He spoke about conditions in our prison system being tantamount to torture. We know recidivism rates are nearly seven out of ten in this country. Is it time to be more radical? What would a citizens' assembly on prisons and incarceration in this country look like? We should begin a full exploration of our prison system. What is working and what is very clearly not working? What do we need to do differently and what can we do differently? Do we really need to imprison women whose children will have to visit them and be traumatised by that prospect?
There are a lot of things we can do if we had a vision for something very different. Clearly, what we have is not only not working, it has been described as being tantamount to torture.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:45+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-19