5th December 2024
IPRT welcomes the launch of a new resource called the Prison Life Index - a new composite index that evaluates the respect for the fundamental rights of people in prison across the world. It is based on the major international instruments on detention which set minimum standards against which the respect for people in prison's rights is evaluated. Over 35 international norms were combined to produce the analytical framework, in addition to 65 complementary sources. It provides a synthetic overview of detention conditions, country by country.
The first version of the Prison Life Index covers 12 countries, including Ireland. The joint European Union/Council of Europe project “Support to Council of Europe for EU network of prison monitoring bodies (the European NPM Forum)” financially contributed over the years to the evaluations of Ireland, Portugal and France. The second version of the index is scheduled for the end of 2027, with the evaluation of 50 countries, including an update of the initial 12.
The evaluations measure the violations of prisoner rights by the State. They are based on extensive desk research and expert evaluations. The data and information for Ireland were collected between January 2023 and June 2023.
The Prison Life Index is based on 61 indicators, distributed across five dimensions:
Ireland's country report is available here.
Ireland was evaluated on a number of the indicators and received scores ranging from A (compliant with international standards) to E (Not at all compliant with international standards).
Ireland received A ratings for indicators such as - people in prison having access to drinking water, access to personal hygiene products and access to clothing, among other standards.
Ireland received E ratings for some indicators under 'Complaint, appeal and inspection measures'. The indicators that received an E rating include: inspection mechanisms are in place; internal or administrative inspections are carried out regularly by the central administration; and external inspections are regularly carried out by independent bodies.
The analysis of the E ratings states:
"To this day, Ireland has not ratified the Optional Protocol for the Convention against Torture. The country does not have a National Preventive Mechanism. Two types of external inspection mechanisms co-exist in Ireland: the Office of the Inspectorate of Prisons and the Prison Visiting Committees. Both institutions are classified by the Irish Prison Service as independent prison monitoring mechanisms. They do not, however, have the means to effectively conduct their tasks as inspection mechanisms. The publication of their reports is subject to the approval of the Department of Justice. Their resources are insufficient. The members of the Prison Visiting Committees are appointed by the Department of Justice through a process that is not transparent. Until very recently, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons did not produce reports of a comprehensive nature. The reports from the Prison Visiting Committees vary in length, quality and scope of investigation from prison to prison.
A complaint system exists for people in prison. In 2019, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture deemed that this system “could not be considered fit for purpose in all cases”."
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.