A proposal by Fine Gael frontbencher Leo Varadkar that prisoners pay for prison accommodation was disowned by party justice spokesman Charles Flanagan.
Mr Flanagan said that Mr Varadkar had made the proposal in a personal capacity.
Yesterday's Dáil order paper contained a question from Mr Varadkar, which read: "To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will charge prisoners for the cost of their time in prison, where prisoners can afford to meet this cost, and if he will make a statement on the matter?"
Minister of State for Integration Policy Conor Lenihan, standing in for his brother Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan, who was absent because of a family bereavement, criticised Mr Varadkar's "rather right-wing suggestion that we should charge prisoners for their incarceration." He added: "To my mind Deputy Varadkar's proposal is rather loathsome, because I believe any person with an understanding of our prison system could easily inform him that the people incarcerated in our prisons tend to be from very poor backgrounds.
"I do not believe that the principle of paying for one's punishment, which is popular in right- wing circles in the United States, should be introduced to the Irish prison system.
"I do not believe that the issues rightly raised could be addressed properly in our prison system were Deputy Varadkar's proposals to come to fruition."
Mr Flanagan said: "The Minister of State made reference to Deputy Varadkar, but I should stress that the question does not reflect Fine Gael policy and appears to be the deputy's personal view." Mr Lenihan replied: "I am glad Deputy Flanagan clarified that. I have hope for him yet."
Earlier, Mr Lenihan said there would be practical difficulties and costs associated with trying to recover money from individuals who frequently had no visible assets or means of support.
"There are also a number of policy issues. For example, if prisoners have funds available to them, should claims by the Irish Prison Service compete with claims for damages by victims or the work of the Criminal Assets Bureau?
"However, it is only fair to point out that section 37 of the Prisons Act 2007 provides an appropriate statutory basis for a number of provisions in the prison rules of 2007, which allow a prison governor to charge for access to certain services, over and above the standard provision to all prisoners, such as use of the videolink, telephone calls, and access to materials relating to current affairs."
