Round-up: Launch of Progress in the Penal System 2021

7th February 2022

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) was delighted to launch the fifth edition of Progress in the Penal System (2021) on Monday 7th February 2022 at 11am, via Zoom. 

In recent years, PIPS has provided a comprehensive analysis of progress over a 12-month period towards meeting human rights and best practice in Ireland’s penal system. Unlike previous years, PIPS 2021 performs an overarching review of the overall progress across the lifetime of the project against the standards set in the first edition of PIPS in 2017. 

The report is available to download here. See pages 20 and 21 for an overall assessment of each standard reviewed in this edition. 

Contributors at the launch event included: Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC); Prof Ben Crewe, University of Cambridge (see Prof Crewe's presentation here); Caron McCaffrey, Director General of the Irish Prison Service; Mark Wilson, Director of the Probation Service; and Prof Ian O’Donnell, UCD. Sarahjane McCreery, IPRT Senior Policy and Research Officer, introduced the report findings. The launch was chaired by Dr Seamus Taylor, IPRT Chairperson.

You can watch a recording of the event on Youtube here.

Media:

• Newstalk: Ireland sending too many people to prison for minor offences
• RTÉ: Pandemic had 'devastating' impact on prisoners' family contact - IPRT
• The Irish Times: Conditions in Irish prisons have worsened, report warns
• Irish Independent: Short jail terms being handed ‘too often’ ahead of community service, report warns
• Irish Examiner: Large section of prisoners seek to be locked in cell for up to 23 hours a day

The PIPS project is made possible through the continued support of our donor-advised family fund and the Community Foundation for Ireland.