23rd July 2023
The Journal reports on the number of court summonses for failure to pay for a TV licence issued last year. Irish Prison Reform Trust (IPRT) has campaigned for many years to end the wasteful practice of imprisonment for fine payment defaults. Imprisonment for fines default represents a completely ineffective use of Garda, Courts and Irish Prison Service time and resources.
11th July 2023
IPRT responds to the most recent CSO data indicating that three in every five people released from prison reoffended within three years.
27th May 2023
Opinion piece from Professor Kathleen Lynch in response to IPRT's report 'Progress in the Penal System - a framework for penal reform (2022)' which comments on overcrowding and lack of supports in women's prisons.
4th May 2023
IPRT featured on Virgin Media TV on the Ireland AM show to discuss the scale and implications of prison overcrowding and the impact this has on people in prison.
25th April 2023
In a RTÉ News report on Sunday 23 April, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) confirms overcrowding crisis in prisons that IPRT have previously raised. The IPS states that prisons have reached capacity and are now overcrowded, following a temporary dip during the Covid-19 pandemic. IPRT calls on the Government to use prison as a last resort, not only for those serving shorter sentences but also for those held on remand or eligible, where appropriate, for early or temporary release.
2nd March 2023
IPRT's new report on Maternal Imprisonment argues that non-custodial measures at both pre-trial and sentencing stages should be the preferred position for pregnant women and women with dependent children.
23rd December 2022
IPRT's Executive Director Saoirse Brady writes about the impact of extremely limited access children have to their parents in prison at Christmas time.
17th December 2022
Following the news of high figures of people who have been in prison for over a year without being convicted of any crime, IPRT stress that remanding people in custody should only be used as a measure of last resort.
9th December 2022
IPRT's Executive Director Saoirse Brady joined Damien and Paul from New Creative Cleaning Services in speaking to RTÉ's Evelyn O'Rourke about living with convictions for the Today with Claire Byrne Show.
6th December 2022
Following IPRT's presentation to the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Mental Health on our report 'Access to Rights for People Detained in Secure Forensic Mental Health Facilities in Ireland', Mary Carolan of the Irish Times reports.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.