Travellers in the Irish Prison System: A Qualitative Study

May 28, 2014 GuestPostIrish Penal Reform Trust, Irish Travellers Movement, Prison, Travellers' rightsLeave a comment

We are delighted to welcome this guest post from Deirdre Malone, Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

On Monday 19^th May the Irish Penal Reform Trust launched “Travellers in the Irish Prison System: A Qualitative Study”.

In 2011 the UNCAT had expressed concern at the reports of allegations of intimidation of Traveller prisoners especially in Cork prison and over more recent years IPRT had become increasingly aware that very little has been documented about the experiences of Travellers in the Irish Prison system. Evidence that emerged from our nearest neighbours gave cause for concern, revealing a range of issues that disproportionately affected Travellers in prison including racist abuse, discrimination, literacy problems, high rates of suicide, substance misuse and the particular challenges that separation from family can bring to members of the Travelling community. As one of the key objectives for IPRT is to achieve measurable improvements in meeting the needs of identified groups of vulnerable prisoners we strongly felt that this was an area that needed to be specifically addressed. This is the first time that research has been carried out on the experience of Travellers in the Irish prison system and is long overdue. Continue reading “Travellers in the Irish Prison System: A Qualitative Study” →

The Children's Referendum: St. Patrick's Institution Report – Some Thoughts

October 17, 2012 Yvonne DalyMichael Reilly, Prison, St Patrick’s InstitutionLeave a comment

The Inspector of Prisons’ Report into St. Patrick’s Institution makes for harrowing reading. His use, throughout, of the word “child” is poignant and dramatic. He does not speak in technical or legal terms about “juveniles” or “young offenders”; he does not list complicated Articles of the Constitution or European Convention on Human Rights; he does not pontificate. He simply tells the story of St. Patrick’s Institution, of the children imprisoned there, of the adults imprisoned there, and the dismaying culture that has festered there. It is a sad, sad story, and one which we, as a nation, should be horrified to hear in Ireland in 2012.

The Inspector, Judge Michael Reilly, must be admired for his dogged pursuit of the truth in relation to the regime in St. Patrick’s Institution. He writes (at para 3.3) that if one were to compile a report on St Patrick’s based on one or two visits one might accept that it was run in accordance with best practice and that the rights of prisoners were vindicated. However, his approach was much more thorough. His Report is based on numerous visits to St Patrick’s, many of which were unannounced, on conversations with prisoners, prison officers, representatives of the Prison Officers Association, service providers to the prison and prison management, and on the views of many former inmates of St. Patrick’s, people who worked there over the years, people and organisations who provided services to St. Patrick’s and a cross section of people with an interest in and a knowledge of St. Patrick’s (para 3.4). This allowed for concerns to be cross-checked and verified, and means that the veracity of the findings in the Report is beyond question.

Most media outlets are covering the story today and it is not particularly Continue reading “The Children's Referendum: St. Patrick's Institution Report – Some Thoughts” →

Owers report:Reforming the Northern Ireland Prison Service

October 30, 2011 Ross FrenettDavid Ford, Hillsborough Agreement, Maghaberry, NIPS, Northern Ireland, Owers report, PrisonLeave a comment

In my first post for this blog last year I referred to the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) as the ‘blind spot’ of the Good Friday Agreement and highlighted the necessity for swift reform, not least due to propaganda value offered to anti-GFA groups through the appalling conditions prevalent at HMP Maghaberry. In addition to its treatment of those in Maghaberry, the NIPS has come under fire for its failure to adequately provide for prisoners with mental health issues, see Viki’s post in May. This week the Prison Review Team issued its final report (Owers report) making 40 recommendations to Justice Minister David Ford relating to reform of the NIPS. This commission, which was established as part of the Hillsborough Agreement in 2010, was originally tasked with:

Continue reading “Owers report:Reforming the Northern Ireland Prison Service” →

"[C]onditions in some of our prisons may expose the State to significant reputational, legal and financial risk": Thornton Hall Review Group Report

August 1, 2011 Yvonne DalyAlan Shatter, Cork Prison, Dóchas Centre, Irish Penal Reform Trust, Irish Prison Service, Kilworth, mountjoy prison, Penology, Prison, Thornton Hall Project Review GroupLeave a comment

The Report of the Thornton Hall Project Review Group was published by the Minister for Justice and Equality on Thursday of last week, July 28 2011. The Group was established by the Minister, Alan Shatter T.D., in early April 2011 with specific terms of reference which, basically, provided for a review of the need for new prison accommodation in the jurisdiction and consideration of the future of the Thornton Hall prison project. The Review Group’s report is interesting from a number of perspectives. The recommendations relating directly to the future of the Thornton Hall prison project are more than noteworthy; observations and recommendations made regarding other aspects of the prison system and the state of the prison estate in Ireland at present are intriguing; and statistics provided on the levels of imprisonment, the use of temporary release and the pervasive problem of over-crowding are fascinating. Continue reading “"[C]onditions in some of our prisons may expose the State to significant reputational, legal and financial risk": Thornton Hall Review Group Report” →

Committee Against Torture Observations Published.

June 6, 2011 Máiréad Enrighta b and c v. ireland, asylum, children's ombudsman, committee against torture, domestic violence, fgm, gbv, gender-based violence, IHRC, inhuman and degrading treatment, investigation, involuntary detention, Magdalene Laundries, mental health, Prison, ryan report, slopping out, St Patrick’s Institution, UNCAT1 Comment

As several newspapers have noted today, the UN Committee against Torture has released its Concluding Observations for Ireland (all documents are available here). This is the Committee’s response to Ireland’s first periodic report. Fiona detailed the core issues on which the Committee was expected to focus here. We hope to have fuller posts on some of these issues in due course, and of course, welcome guest commentary from others researching in relevant areas.

Continue reading “Committee Against Torture Observations Published.” →

Damning New Reports on Detention in Irish Prisons: Ombudsman for Children and CPT

February 11, 2011 Yvonne DalyCommittee for the Prevention of Torture, Cork Prison, Council of Europe, CPT, Emily Logan, Garda Síochána, IPRT, Limerick Prison, Midlands Prison, mountjoy prison, Ombudsman for Children, Portlaoise Prison, Prison, slopping out, St Patrick’s Institution, Thornton HallLeave a comment

This week two new damning reports on Irish prisons were published: one by the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Degrading Treatment (CPT) and one by the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan. Both outlining serious human rights concerns within the prison system of this country. While the focus of the Ombudsman for Children’s report is on St Patrick’s Institution (which houses male offenders aged between 16 and 21), the Report of the CPT covers all places of detention in Ireland including prisons, garda stations and psychiatric institutions.

The CPT Report is based on a visit to Ireland carried out by members of the Committee between 25^th January and 5^th February 2010 and it contains details of appalling human rights issues in Irish prisons, including matters relating to prisoner healthcare, prisoner protection, and the investigation of complaints against staff. Continue reading “Damning New Reports on Detention in Irish Prisons: Ombudsman for Children and CPT” →

The Backlash against Prisoner Voting Reform in the UK

January 28, 2011 Colin MurrayJohn Hirst, Prison, Right to Vote, United KingdomLeave a comment

Philip Hollobone MP (Pic Credit: The Telegraph) Westminster Hall debates often deal with highly localised or uncontroversial issues (some highlights from January include a debate on Historic Homes and another on Arbroath and Forfar Driving Test Centres). The horse-shoe layout of the Grand Committee Room is consciously intended to foster a more constructive style of parliamentary debate than occurs within the House of Commons. The debates run alongside ordinary Commons business and speeches rarely involve responses from a senior government minister, which often means that they receive little coverage and are sparsely attended. Two weeks ago, however, numerous members rose to speak on what is certain to become one of the most controversial issues that will tackled this Parliamentary session, prisoner voting rights (see my earlier post here). The lack of Parliamentary debate on this issue has been regularly commented upon in recent years, and in this instance Westminster Hall certainly appeared to foster a consensus. Almost all of the MPs who spoke did so in opposition to the Government’s proposal, announced late last year, to bring forward measures to enfranchise prisoners serving less than four years in prison in response to two European Court of Human Rights (in Hirst v UK and Greens v UK) which have established that the current blanket disenfranchisement of prisoners is incompatible with the right to vote under the ECHR. There are currently around 29,000 prisoners serving sentences of less than four years (although not all of these individuals would be eligible to vote under the Government’s proposal, as that number will include many foreign nationals). Continue reading “The Backlash against Prisoner Voting Reform in the UK” →

Drislane on Child Detention, International Law and Ireland

June 20, 2010 Liam Thorntonchild law, Children Detention Centre, Department of Justice, Detention of suspects, Irish Youth Justice Service, Law enforcement, Minor, Prison, Republic of Ireland, St Patrick’s Institution, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, united nationsLeave a comment

Human Rights in Ireland is delighted to welcome this guest post from Siobhan Drislane, Law Reform Commission. This post is published in Siobhan’s personal capacity and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Law Reform Commission.

One of the core concerns of the law relating to juvenile justice, and indeed child law as a whole, is that of detention. Firstly, it is a well established principle that detention of a child should only be used as a measure of last resort. This principle has been expressly identified by:

Rule 13.1 (in the context of detention pending trial) and Rule 19 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“Beijing Rules”) 1985
Article 8 of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child 1990
Rules 1 and 2 of the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty 1990.

Furthermore, all of the above provisions specify that detention of a child should last for the minimum period appropriate.

In the Irish context the Children Act 2001, per section 96(2), states that “a period of detention should be imposed only as a measure of last resort”. This statement expressly mirrors the position set out in international instruments. Additionally, section 143(1) of the 2001 Act states that a court “shall not make an order imposing a period of detention on a child unless it is satisfied that detention is the only suitable way of dealing with the child”. Continue reading “Drislane on Child Detention, International Law and Ireland” →

Guest Post: Griffin on the Final Report of the National Commission on Restorative Justice

January 22, 2010 Máiréad EnrightCriminal Justice, Criminal Law, Prison, Restorative Justice, sentencingLeave a comment

We are pleased to welcome this guest post from Diarmuid Griffin, Lecturer in Law at NUI Galway. You can read more about Diarmuid on our Guest Contributors Page.

The National Commission on Restorative Justice published its final report in December 2009. The Commission, announced in March 2007, was set up to examine the wider application of restorative justice within the criminal justice system. The Commission was established following the report of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights which recommended the development of a restorative justice programme for adult offenders in the Irish criminal justice system.

Restorative justice programmes can already be seen in operation in Ireland for juvenile offenders through the Garda Diversion Programme or a court-referred Probation Service Conference and ad hoc programmes dealing with adult offenders in Nenagh and Tallaght. While there are various different models of restorative justice, the practice generally involves the bringing together of the victim, offender and, where possible, members of the community to negotiate the outcome for the offending behaviour. For example, rather than sentencing an offender to a traditional term in prison a judge may refer an offender into a restorative programme where such a negotiation may occur.

In its final report, the Commission recommends the national implementation of restorative justice for adult offenders. The Commission believes that such a programme “will make a positive contribution to the lives of all citizens, and particularly to those more closely connected to the offending behaviour.” Having conducted an extensive examination of the use of restorative justice in Ireland and in other jurisdictions, the report attempts to provide a workable framework for the development of restorative justice that is mindful of both economic and criminal justice realities.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Griffin on the Final Report of the National Commission on Restorative Justice” →

'Slopping Out' Action in the High Court

December 3, 2009 Máiréad Enrightart3 echr, inhuman and degrading treatment, mulligan, Prison, slopping outLeave a comment

RTE reported yesterday evening that a former prisoner has begun an 8 day High Court action in which he seeks compensation for the humiliation and degradation which he endured during his time at Portlaoise Prison as a consequence of the practice of ‘slopping out’. The phrase refers to the practice whereby prisoners are denied in-cell sanitation and are provided with chamber pots instead. The IPRT says that just over 30% of Irish prisoners ‘slop out’. The Irish Times has further details this morning. The Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the prevalence of the practice in its 2008 examination of Ireland. We will have comprehensive commentary as and when more details of the case emerge. Until then, this article in the 2008 Judicial Studies Institute Journal by Dr. Ursula Kilkelly and Claire Hamilton (from p. 74 especially) is an excellent guide to the human rights issues involved.

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