Roundup: Reactions to Justice Committee Report on Penal Reform

28th March 2013

[Updated 2nd April 2013]

A new 'Report on Penal Reform' was published by the Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on 27th March 2013. IPRT welcomed the report, and called for Government action on all recommendations.

IPRT engaged with the process by way of a submission to the Sub-Committee on Penal Reform in Nov 2011, which detailed specific recommendations around 'back door' strategies, including earned early release and a widening of remission rates and eligibility. Although some of the recommendations in the final Sub-Committee Report fall short of those proposed in the IPRT submission, the organisation strongly welcomes the report as offering a coherent plan for reform of the Irish penal system.

The recommendations of the Justice Committee were covered by many media outlets, including comment by IPRT - see below for more details.

Publications:

• Justice Committee: Report on Penal Reform (27 March 2013)
• IPRT Position Paper: Reform of Remission, Temporary Release and Parole (22 Oct 2012)
• IPRT Submission to the Sub-committee on Penal Reform (Nov 2011)

Press Releases:

• Justice Committee: 'Decarceration policy for non-violent prisoners needed to reduce prisoner numbers - Justice Committee'
• IPRT: 'Political consensus on ‘decarceration strategy’ clears the way for real reform of Ireland’s penal system - IPRT'

Read/hear more:

• Irish Times: 'Government should move quickly on proposal to reduce prison population' (Ian O'donnell, 2nd April 2013)
• Irish Times - Editorial: 'Making prison work better' (2nd April 2013)
• RTÉ 'Drivetime': Oireachtas Justice Committee Report Recommends One third Reduction in Prison Numbers (27 March; 17:49)
• Irish Independent: 'Community service should replace shorter prison terms, says report' (28 March)
• Irish Times: 'Analysis: Familiar ring to findings on prisons but they may help tunnel way out' (28 March)
• Irish Times: Prison numbers should be cut by a third, says Oireachtas committee report (28 March)
• Irish Examiner: 'Demand to cut prison numbers by a third' (28 March)
• Irish Independent: 'Criminals jailed for less than six months should do community service' - politicians (27 March)
• thejournal.ie: 'Committee calls on government to reduce prisoner numbers by one-third' (27 March)