asked the Minister for Justice the status of prisoners who will be sent to the newly-opened prison in Cork; and if these will include any persons convicted under the Offences Against the State Act.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Status of Prisoners.
39.
Cork Prison, like the other prisons, will be used for persons remanded in custody, in custody awaiting trial, or sentenced on conviction.
Would the Minister agree that the total content of his reply with the detailed rejection of the complaints made as being untrue followed by the statement that he is not prejuding the issue is entirely——
I have since answered the subsequent question.
We are on Question No. 39.
I waited until the end of the question.
I have completed my reply to Question No. 39.
The Minister tried to trick the House.
There is no question of trickery.
I was watching him carefully. He was reading from the file and without stopping or pausing for breath he picked up another file and continued on in the same tone as if reading the second part of the question.
The Chair called Question No. 39 and the Minister replied to it.
No. There was no moment between the two replies to allow the Chair to call anything.
I called Question No. 39.
The Chair may have called it but the Minister certainly did not stop.
Yes, I called Question No. 39.
I should like to know how the Chair knew he had finished.
Because I was watching him.
I was watching him most closely. I was poised to rise as soon as his breath stopped.
I was hoping he would finish.
May I now ask the Minister in relation to that, would he accept that by prejudging the complaints he has, in fact, undermined the possibility of a subsequent investigation and just as has happened in the case of Derry——
If I may go back to Question No. 38, having completed Question No. 39 and taking it that the next question I shall be answering will be Question No. 40, I want to say in replying to Deputy FitzGerald that I completed my reply to Question No. 38, a very lengthy reply. I laid down the file. I looked at the Ceann Comhairle to call Question No. 39 and I picked up the file, opened it and began to read the reply to Question No. 39. I completed it and sat down. Deputy FitzGerald then stood up and began to ask a supplementary question in relation to Question No. 38. I have no objection to answering supplementary questions on Question No. 38 from Deputy FitzGerald or any other Deputy but I deeply resent being, in effect, called a liar and, in fact, the Chair, I think, being called the same thing by Deputy FitzGerald because the facts are precisely as I have stated them.
(Interruptions.)
In regard to the allegation made by Deputy FitzGerald in his late supplementary question that I had prejudged the issue he will find when he gets the text of my full reply that I very carefully avoided doing that and I said in the course of it that I did not want to prejudge any single issue but I did say that the overall picture given by the series of articles in question in relation to the prison was quite false and was totally unfair to the prison staff.
Would the Minister not agree that in relation to——
Question No. 40. We must make some progress. Deputy FitzGerald may not monopolise Question Time. I am calling Question No. 40.