Irish Penal Reform Trust

International

The work of IPRT is led by a number of standards developed by international bodies, organisations and courts in relation to imprisonment and wider issues of the State’s penal policy. In particular, our work is based on the commitment to implement in Ireland a human rights-based approach to penal policy.

With this in mind, IPRT’s research, policy and awareness-raising campaigns are developed to support and monitor the implementation in the context of penal policy in Ireland of the United Nations and Council of Europe standards.

The IPRT is also committed to the promotion of best practice examples that have proved effective in other jurisdictions. To this end, we aim to provide a comprehensive library of good practices that can be accessed and used by practitioners, academics, prisoners, and anyone else interested in penal reform and penal policy. The Library is updated on a regular basis to take into account most recent developments in this area.

Council of Europe: 'SPACE I' Annual penal statistics: Prison Populations 2023

7th June 2024

The Council of Europe (CoE) has published 'SPACE I' Annual Penal Statistics on Prison Populations 2023. The report contains a detailed breakdown of penological trends across Europe. 

RESCALED European Symposium on Detention Houses

21st March 2024

On 20 and 21 March 2024 RESCALED hosted their European Symposium on Detention Houses in Brussels. IPRT Policy and Research Coordinator and Detention House Ambassador for Ireland, Pamela Drumgoole, attended the event alongside other esteemed Irish company.

Liberties EU Rule of Law Report 2024

18th March 2024

IPRT, alongside eight other Irish organisations, contributed to the Liberties EU Rule Of Law Report 2024. The international report lays out the most striking developments concerning justice, corruption, civic space, media freedom, checks and balances, and systemic human rights issues across 19 states.

Mapping Solitary Confinement project

31st January 2024

IPRT contributed to the Mapping Solitary Confinement project, which seeks to draw a picture of how, when, why and for how long people can be placed in solitary confinement (also known as 'segregation' 'isolation' and 'secure care', amongst other names) in different countries across the world, and what their daily lives look like. The project, published in January 2024, also aims to identify common patterns and issues as well as good practice, and help inform reform efforts.

UK: College of Policing - Imprisonment and other custodial sanctions

30th November 2023

Results from over 100+ studies in the UK show that on average, evidence suggests that custodial sanctions increase reoffending compared to non-custodial sanctions.

Liberties EU Rule of Law Report 2023

21st February 2023

IPRT contributed to the Liberties EU Rule Of Law report 2023. It lays out the most striking developments concerning justice, corruption, civic space, media freedom, checks and balances, and systemic human rights issues across 18 states.

IPRT responds to the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) Concluding Observations

9th February 2023

Following the recent examination of Ireland under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, IPRT responds to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) Concluding Observations.

IPRT Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

15th August 2022

This IPRT submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child makes 22 recommendations relating to child justice and children with a family member in prison in Ireland.

Consideration of Ireland by the UN Human Rights Committee under ICCPR

5th July 2022

Consideration and questioning of Ireland by the UN Human Rights Committee under ICCPR took place on 4-5 July 2020. Here, we summarise the main questioning relating to penal reform.

IPRT presentation to Universal Periodic Review (UPR) pre-session

7th October 2021

IPRT was one of the civil society organisations chosen to make a statement at the pre-session meeting of Ireland’s UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 7th October 2021.

Our work is supported by

Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.

Subscribe

Legal

Contact us

This website uses cookies to provide a good browsing experience

Some are necessary to help our website work properly and can't be switched off, and some are optional. Click on "Choose cookies" below for more information on the cookies being used on this website. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available. You can manage your preferences by visiting “Cookie preferences" at the bottom of any page.

This website uses cookies to provide a good browsing experience

Some are necessary to help our website work properly and can't be switched off, and some are optional. Please choose the cookies to allow below. Please note that based on your settings, not all functions of the website may be available. You can manage your preferences by visiting “Cookie preferences" at the bottom of any page.

Your cookie preferences have been saved.