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Friday 31 March 2023 Dublin: 9°C

# iprt

This year
2023
# Irish Prisons
Irish Penal Reform Trust express 'grave concern' as bed capacity reaches 100% across prison estate
Limerick’s female prison has reached highs of 164% capacity.
Last year
2022
Voices
Children with parents in prison are silently serving sentences of their own this Christmas
At Christmas time, children have extremely limited access to their parents in prison, writes Saoirse Brady of the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
All time
# Covid-19
Prison service facing 'unprecedented challenge' as it manages three Covid-19 outbreaks
There are at least 63 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among inmates.
# Drugs
A conviction for €4 worth of cannabis 'just defies logic', say campaigners
Possession of any amount of cannabis is illegal under Irish law.
# Dundrum
'Most unfortunate case': Central Mental Hospital staff engaged in standoff with gardaí over mentally ill man's admittance
The man was initially refused entry due to the lack of beds in the CMH, an ongoing issue at the Dundrum facility.
# Report
Covid-19 exposes 'unsafe' failures in prison service – report
Measures were introduced in Irish prisons last year to prevent the spread of the virus.
# Prison reform
Central Mental Hospital is at full capacity, prisoners with severe conditions wait 120 days for transfer
There are also currently 614 prisoners on a waiting list for an intervention from prison psychology services.
# Solitary Confinement
Report calls for an end to solitary confinement in Irish prisons
A new report from the IPRT it says it can have a severe negative effect on prisoners’ mental health.
# hiring ex prisoners
'People we recruit from prison are on average more loyal, more honest and stay with us for longer'
The UK’s leading employer of people with convictions says there can be huge benefits in hiring ex-prisoners.
# Solitary Confinement
'Prisoners have a very basic human need for contact'
A change in prison rules looks at the “meaningful human contact” prisoners get when out of their cells.
# lgbt in prison
'They think you are a poof and they prey on you'
A new report documents the experiences of LGBT people in prison, an “invisible population”.
# Justice
Community service: 'Cheaper than jail and makes society more safe'
Last year, there were 2,354 Community Service Orders made, with a total of just over 352,000 hours in lieu of a custodial sentence.
# Overcrowding
The UN says Ireland's prisons are 'inhuman'
“Chronic” overcrowding, “poor” cell conditions and the “inhuman” practice of slopping out – the UN says our prisons really need to step up.
# Prison
Over 8,000 people were imprisoned for non-payment of fines last year
And legislation that will cut that number was passed yesterday.
# New Job
And President Higgins's new adviser is...
Drumroll, please.
# Overcrowding
Big increase in number of women being sent to jail
The number of women being sent to jail has increased by one third in the last three years, while the number of men being imprisoned has levelled off.
# Solitary Confinement
Irish prison system 'over-reliant' on prolonged solitary confinement
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said today that extended periods of isolation can cause harm to prisoners’ mental health and make rehabilitation impossible.
# Young offenders
Moving inmates from St Pat's to adult prison "won't make one iota of difference"
A prison officer in St Patrick’s says all the current problems in St Patrick’s Institution will just be recreated when the inmates move to Wheatfield Prison.
# justice system
Here's how 7,500 people went to jail for not paying fines in 2012
An average of 20 people a day were jailed for non-payment of fines last year – despite moves to reduce the figures.
# Prison
Report asks for more supports for children with parents in prison
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has made a number of recommendations about the rights and needs of families of prisoners.
# Prison
Call for reforms to ensure "fair and transparent" early release of prisoners
The IPRT recommends that a single ‘Early Release Act’ should be enacted to overhaul the current systems of remission, temporary release and parole.
# Courts
25 people a day are being jailed for not paying fines
The high number of people being jailed for non-payment has been described as “expensive and pointless”.
# Prisons
Dramatic 45 per cent increase in numbers sent to prison
However, the number of prison staff has actually fallen over the last five years.
# Prisons
Inspector's report finds Limerick Prison 'has made progress'
A report by the Inspector of Prisons earlier this year had found that Limerick Prison was not fit for purpose and needed a ‘regime change’.
# Prison
Government urged to address 'sub-standard' prison conditions
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has also asked the government to commit to a timeframe in bringing prison conditions in line with international standards.