17th September 2024
On 17 September 2024, Ann Murphy of the Irish Examiner, writes about Irish Penal Reform Trust's pre-Budget submission ahead of Budget 2025.
In a statement to the Irish Examiner, IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady said: “The Prison Visiting Committees 2022 Annual Reports, as in previous years, highlight the inappropriate nature of prison settings for people with high-level mental health with long waiting lists to access necessary services. While these reports provide important insights into life behind the high prison walls, they are already outdated given the marked increase in the prison population since they were completed, so many of the issues they note may in fact have deteriorated further in the interim.”
She said IPRT is urging the government to “make a substantial and meaningful investment to deliver on key commitments for people in the criminal justice system” in next month’s budget.
She added: “The prison system across the country is creaking under the weight of severe overcrowding and unfortunately, in the absence of adequate quality mental health and addiction treatment services in the community, prison has become the default option for people who experience these challenges.
“Imprisonment, while necessary in some cases, in many other cases is an ineffective, counterproductive and hugely expensive response to offending. Instead of aiming to expand prison space, IPRT calls for smarter and more effective investment in supporting and championing effective alternatives to prison and promoting diversion for people with mental health or addiction issues where this is possible and appropriate.“
She said: “IPRT believes that if financial resources and political will are not invested in supporting and championing effective alternatives to prison, the resources needed to continually increase the prison estate will be a financial and social drain on the State for decades to come.”
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.