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-----
Sentiment score: -0.39
-----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?
Sentiment score: -0.34
The Government is putting people in prison for coming into the country.
Sentiment score: -0.51
It is sometimes difficult not to interrupt the Taoiseach when he is purposely distorting-----
Sentiment score: -0.12
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.
Sentiment score: -0.23
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.
Sentiment score: -0.26
Sorry?
Sentiment score: -0.08
This is ridiculous.
Sentiment score: -0.36