9th November 2024
On 9 November, Anne-Marie Brennan wrote about the experience of people voting in prison for Galway Pulse. IPRT Exeuctive Director, Saoirse Brady, joined Damien Quinn, Founder of Spéire Nua, in giving some insights to the process.
Copy of the article below:
As the general election approaches, most people in Ireland can expect an influx of information on which candidate will best represent them.
While voting in prison is available, a disconnect remains between those serving time and the voting process.
Galway Pulse spoke to Damien Quinn, Founder of Spéire Nua, a Galway-based organisation helping those who have spent time in prison improve their lives and communities.
Quinn recalled his personal experience and how voting wasn’t something he felt connected to during his time in prison.
“I certainly had the opportunity to vote in prison and even at that time, I didn’t really know what I’d be voting for… so I didn’t engage with that process because I didn’t feel part of that system.”
According to the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), an NGO that campaigns for rights in the penal system, “Ireland’s most recent prisoner participation rate is approximately three per cent”.
Speaking to Galway Pulse, Executive Director at IPRT, Saoirse Brady, stated that feelings of isolation can prevent people from using their vote.
“I think [people in prison] just feel very disconnected from the process.
“They don’t have access to the internet the same way we all do. They don’t have access to the outside world in the same way.
“We feel that there needs to be more of an effort to engage with people in prison.”
Discussing the possibility of candidates canvassing in prisons, Quinn said that “it would be very, very welcome”.
“It would help people in prison understand better what a politician’s role actually is.”
Brady noted that this may help to connect people in prison with the voting system.
“Those who are campaigning in an area where there is a prison should really be considering going in and talking to the people in there,” she said.
“They are disenfranchised in terms of feeling disconnected from a lot of the issues that might impact some of us who aren’t in prison. But a lot of the issues are the same.”
Quinn stated that many people in prison “would be advocating for their own areas and better support… better infrastructure [and] better opportunities”.
Quinn explained that the issue of overcrowding within prisons has hindered access to information on voting, as well as education services.
“With regard to getting information about voting, it’s even further reduced because of the capacity issues.
“You’ve got politicians now coming out saying, ‘let’s get tough on crime’. And then you’ve got an overcrowding issue in the prisons where they can’t even get their education now.”
“The [Irish] Prison Service (IPS) do a great job. I want to make that very, very clear,” Quinn said.
He stated that the IPS “need additional resources,” to support those serving time.
In a statement to Galway Pulse, Enda Lee, Press Officer for the IPS, said that “prisoners have access to the media via TV, radio, and newspapers to enable them to stay informed on voting information.”
He also stated that a letter has been recently issued to all prisons “to ensure that voter registration is newly promoted in preparation for the forthcoming general election”.
While those serving time do not need an address to vote while in prison, Brady pointed out that issues can arise once someone is released.
“Especially if a person is in on a short sentence, they might have been registered to vote, but then they’re released… and that interferes with their right to vote because their address will have changed.”
Quinn explained how short prison sentences also impact service engagement.
“In 2022, 2,420-odd people were serving sentences of less than 12 months and people [are] coming in and out, in and out.
“There’s a lot of chaos going on with certain populations in the prison and they don’t engage with anything really meaningful.
“Politics would definitely not fit into any engagement at all really when they’re looking at what’s going on with the person day-to-day.”
Both Brady and Quinn noted the stigma around serving time in prison and that it’s important to understand what leads people to this situation.
“There is a lack of understanding sometimes of why a person may have ended up in prison and people end up in prison for very different reasons,” Brady said.
Quinn expressed a need to allow people to overcome their past and work on rebuilding their lives without stigma.
“That should be the end of the punishment when the sentence is over, but that’s not the case.
“When people get released, they have to deal with the secondary punishment of living with a label and that needs to change.
“Opportunity, in my book, is absolutely the reason why people offend, they can’t get an opportunity, so they do things to survive.”
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.