15th February 2024
People who have served a prison sentence for a criminal offence are entitled to believe that once the sentence is completed they have paid their debt to society. That does not appear to be the case. New research shows that there are huge barriers to ex-prisoners finding employment and that the past simply won’t leave them alone. Damien Quinn was one such person, who had to fight hard to rebuild his life once he finished his sentence. He and Irish Penal Reform Trust Executive Director Saoirse Brady are this week’s guests on the podcast.
8th February 2024
IPRT comments on its report "The Secondary Punishment": A Scoping Study on Employer Attitudes to Hiring People with Criminal Convictions, which shines a light on employer attitudes towards hiring people with convictions.
8th February 2024
Saoirse Brady, Executive Director of Irish Penal Reform Trust and Damien Quinn founder of Spéire Nua, spoke on RTÉ Radio One Drivetime about the new research published by IPRT that shows barriers remain for people with a history of convictions to finding work.
8th February 2024
IPRT and Damien Quinn reflect on the barriers to people with convictions finding work and the new report on employers. attitudes to hiring people with convictions.
6th February 2024
IPRT comments on the impact imprisonment has on children and families of people in prison, details about prison visits and other issues arising from overcrowding in prison.
29th January 2024
The Law Society Gazette reported on IPRT's response to the publication by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) Inspection Report Oversight Monitoring Visit During COVID-19 Pandemic Mountjoy Female Prison (Dóchas Centre) 2020 and supporting Action Plan.
26th January 2024
Almost four years after the Office of Inspector of Prisons conducted its first Covid-19 inspection in the Dóchas Centre, IPRT welcomes that Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has published the report (albeit redacted in parts) but calls for the release of subsequent investigation reports.
17th January 2024
Cormac O'Keeffe of the Irish Examiner reported on the monthly figures of people in prison released by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) and compared them to previous statistics. IPRT responds to the numbers and calls for action to deliver existing commitments.
17th January 2024
IPRT response to an analysis of data conducted by the Irish Examiner, showing the mounting pressures on the prison system.
9th January 2024
IPRT speaks to Sorcha Pollak of the Irish Times In The News podcast alongside Irish Times Crime and Security Editor Conor Lally about reducing the number of people sent to prison.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.