Senator Bacik seeks a debate on the use of imprisonment

Order of Business

Senator Ivana Bacik: I add my voice to that of others who have been critical of the way in which today's debate on NAMA has been organised. Perhaps “organised” is the wrong word. While I am glad we are debating it and I look forward to contributing, we need a debate on the way in which business is ordered in the House. There is an aura of machismo about the way in which…

{Interruptions}

…We have been waiting for months to debate NAMA and it has finally arrived. This is a matter for the Government and the leader of Fianna Fail in this House and no one else. He is the person who determines the way in which business is conducted. Therefore, he is responsible for late night sittings. Is this a necessary or efficient way to run a business? Senator Fitzgerald pointed out that no private business would be run this way. In private business, there is a recognised problem called presenteeism, in which employees believe they need to be present for all hours of the day and night to show how diligent they are. This leads to the opposite of greater productivity, as it can have a negative effect on morale. I am looking forward to contributing to the debate on NAMA, but we must examine the way in which it has been ordered and whether it is necessary or efficient to conduct our business in this way.

I seek a debate on the use of imprisonment in light of today's reports that the number of people jailed this year for not paying fines is set to double to 4,000. On average, they are jailed for short periods of, for example, 24 hours. They should not be sent to prison and we need to consider alternatives. Where someone is not paying a fine, he or she should be entitled to do community service. I am conscious that legislation has been prepared in this regard and will be before us soon. In the meantime, nearly 1,900 people have been jailed for the non-payment of fines this year. This is a scandal, particularly given that others in the banking sector are acting with impunity. On Friday, I marched with the 70,000 people in Dublin who were looking for a better way. We owe it to them to try to clean up the mess in the prison system.