Ebulletin #122

Dear members and supporters, 

We have another jampacked edition of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) online newsletter comprising of updates about recent and upcoming events, Oireachtas and media appearances, new additions to our Board and team, IPRT responses to reports and legislation, sector news and opportunities, and more. 

Is mise le meas, 

Michelle Byrne 
IPRT Communications Officer 

IPRT is hosting the Traveller Justice Initiative (TJI) 

IPRT is delighted to host the Traveller Justice Initiative (TJI). We welcome Anne Costello as she joins us on secondment from St Stephen's Green Trust (SSGT). TJI is a partnership between SSGT, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) and the Probation Service (PS) to embed changes in policy and practice that have a positive influence on Travellers in the criminal justice system, their families and communities. Read more about TJI’s work. 

TJI has recently put out an invitation to tender for a research project titled ‘Examining the use of early release schemes in the criminal justice system in Ireland among the Traveller prison population’. The closing date for applications is 5 November 2024.

IPRT at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Traveller issues  

In September, the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community, chaired by Senator Eileen Flynn, met to discuss Travellers in prison with presentations from IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady, TJI Coordinator Anne Costello and lived experience advocate Annmarie Sweeney. They were joined by colleagues from the Traveller Mediation Service and Barnardos. 

IPRT's opening statement highlighted issues with data on Travellers in the criminal justice system, IPRT's report "Sometimes I’m Missing the Words”: The rights, needs and experiences of foreign national and minority ethnic groups in the Irish penal system, the need to complete the review of Prison Rules and introduce an independent complaints process, called for a dedicated strategy for Travellers in the criminal justice system and to request to the Office of the Inspector of Prisons to carry out a thematic inspection on Irish Travellers in prison. 

• Watch the Oireachtas Committee on Travellers hearing and read our written contributions. 

Budget 2025   

IPRT believes that now, more than ever, is the time for strategic investment that will not only address current pressures on the criminal justice system but also lay the foundation for a more just and equitable system in the future.  

Our pre-Budget 2025 submission called for investment to help address the unmet need in mental health and addiction support, reduce the use of pre-trial detention (remand), provide more alternatives to prison, enhance accountability, support families of people in prison and prevent homelessness. Read the pre-Budget submission asks here.  

We also published an explainer about why IPRT's six asks for Budget 2025 matter. 

After the announcements, we went to the media and said that Budget 2025 falls short on details for tackling prison overcrowding crisis and providing alternatives.

• Read our press release: Budget 2025 falls short on detail for tackling prison overcrowding crisis and providing alternatives, says IPRT 

AGM, Board membership and our Annual Report 2023

At the recent IPRT Annual General Meeting (AGM), we reported on 2023 activities and achievements, presented results from our survey of IPRT members and supporters in prison and gave an overview of the work of the IPRT Children and Families of Prisoners Project Initiative.  

The IPRT Annual Report - Directors' Report and Audited Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2023 was launched at the meeting. It includes information on IPRT activities and developments during the year. 

After nine years, Dr Séamus Taylor retired as Chair of the IPRT Board of Directors. IPRT thanked him for his work and commitment to the organisation. We were delighted to see Derval McDonagh elected as the new chair at the AGM. We are so thankful for all of the contributions and dedication  of retiring members of the board and we welcomed new members to the Board and look forward to working with them in future! 

• Read more about the AGM and the Board elections. 

Pictured L-R: Dr Séamus Taylor receiving a parting gift; the incoming and outgoing Board members; Saoirse Brady with incoming chair Derval McDonagh.

Know Your Rights: Information, Advocacy and Remedies conference  

In August, we held our fully subscribed Know Your Rights: Information, Advocacy and Remedies conference in August, bringing together a wide variety of service providers, information and advice givers, people with direct experience of the prison system, family members of people with direct experience, and relevant organisations from across the academic, civil society and statutory sectors. 

Across three panel discussions, we explored the current challenges that people in prison face in understanding what their rights are, what remedies are available to them, and how to empower them to assert their rights through self or peer advocacy.  We explored the vindication of rights, particularly for minority groups, and how state institutions can take a more active role in providing rights-based information in an accessible and meaningful way.   

• Learn more about the Know Your Rights event. 

IPRT responses to external reports and legislation  

• IPRT welcomes progress in Oberstown but highlights continuing concerns about staffing and use of restrictive practices 

• IPRT responds to the Passage of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 

• IPRT responds to the Parole Board's Annual Report 2023 published 

• IPRT statement regarding a death in Cloverhill Prison on 5 October 2024 

• IPRT responds to the Visiting Committee Annual Reports 2022 

• IPRT responds to Self-Harm in Irish Prisons 2020/2021 Report 

• IPRT’s response to the Child Poverty Monitor and Cost of Living Report 2024 

• IPRT reflects on children’s responses on how to make prison spaces more child-friendly for children visiting a parent 

Children and Families of people in prison  

IPRT’s Children and Families Project Coordinator, Ashling Tobin, travelled to Berlin, Germany to attend the Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) annual international conference. The conference was titled ‘Let’s Talk to One Another: a cross-sectoral approach for children with a parent in prison’. Together, attendees explored comprehensive support systems across sectors for children with an imprisoned parent.  

IPRT’s Action for Children and Families of Prisoners Network met with the newly recruited Family Connection Officer with the Irish Prison Service (IPS), Marita Costigan, a role IPRT has long campaigned for.  

• Read more about this work and more on our dedicated website - www.actionforfamilies.ie

Picture L-R: Ashling Tobin, IPRT with Marita Costigan, IPS; the IPRT Action for Children and Families of Prisoners Network.

Recent submissions 

• IPRT submission to the Joint Committee on Justice on the Life Sentences Bill 2024 
• IPRT submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on children’s rights to access to justice and effective remedies 

Upcoming  

1. Upcoming report: IPRT is the civic society project partner for the research report Access to Justice: Legal Pathways to Justice for the Rights of People in Prison authored by Dr Amina Adanan with the research assistance of Andrea Pownall (both of School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University). Due to unforeseen circumstances, this report launch event was postponed, however, the report will be launched online in the coming weeks. 
2. Upcoming event and research: As part of a full-day event titled New Opportunities: Higher Education Pathways for People with Convictions, the ‘Boxed Out’ research will be launched.  The research is funded by the Irish Research Council and led by Dr. Joe Garrihy and Dr. Ciara Bracken-Roche at Maynooth University, in partnership with IPRT. The report presents evidence and recommendations for reforming admissions policies to support reintegration and reduce reoffending. Register for the event which is taking place 13 November 2024.

IPRT in the News    

We have been featured in a huge amount of media the past few months, below is just a snippet! To read more about our media appearances, read our IPRT in the News webpage. 

• Virgin Media TV Ireland AM: Prison Overcrowding 
• RTÉ News - Six One: Overcrowding contributing to drug problems in prison
• RTÉ TV: Upfront with Katie Hannon - Drug use and addiction 
• Newstalk - Lunchtime Live: Does the Irish prison system work for women?
• RTÉ Today with Claire Byrne: Could we ease prison overcrowding by following the UK’s early release plan?  
• Irish Independent: Saoirse Brady: Dangerous overcrowding in our prisons doesn’t just pose a risk to inmates – it threatens public safety too 
• Law Society Gazette: Fund alternatives to prison, IPRT urges 
• Irish Times: Calls for addiction to be treated as a mental health issue 
• Irish Examiner: Almost 3,000 prisoners waiting for psychology and addiction services 
• Irish Legal News: Concern youth detention is not being treated as last resort 
• Irish Examiner: Coroners still to hold almost half of inquests into prisoner deaths in last 12 years 
• Irish Examiner: Why prison is no place for the mentally ill 
• Irish Legal News: Parole decisions taking around 18 months 
• KCLRFM Guest Editor: Saoirse Brady - Penal Reform in discussion with Experts with Experience
• RTÉ.ie: Prison overcrowding 'stark' and against EU recommendations - IPRT 
• RTÉ Radio 1: This Week - Prison Overcrowding 

Sector opportunities    

• IASIO: Resettlement Coordinator, Castlerea Prison. Closing date 12 November 2024. 
• Treo Port Lairge: Project Worker (Part Time). Working to reduce criminal activity among the people in its target group, thus making Waterford a safer community in which to live. Closing date 15 November 2024. 
• PACE, a community-based agency, is recruiting Volunteers for their prevention services programme, Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) which assists individuals (Core members) with convictions for harmful sexual behaviour. For more information, email cosa@paceorganisation.ie. 
• Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT) internships. To apply, go to the Council of Europe's general site for traineeships and indicate your interest in working for the CPT. www.coe.int/en/web/jobs/traineeships 
• Kickstart Scholarships: Open to students with a criminal history 
• The Probation Service: Inviting expressions of Interest from community-based partners to work in conjunction with the Dublin Probation Service Homeless Team. 

Add your voice - become a Friend or Member

IPRT relies on donations from charitable trusts, individual donations and membership subscriptions to cover operational costs. We have also received funding from donor-advised funds and project funds managed by the Community Foundation for Ireland and project funding from the Human Rights and Equality Grants Scheme of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. IPRT receives core funding from the Scheme to Fund National Organisations which is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Rural and Community Development: