Intent: Progress legislation for increased use of community-based sanctions, prioritise the passage of the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill, implement the recommendations of the High Level Taskforce on Mental Health and Addiction, implement recommendations of Oireachtas Joint Committee on Drugs Use and establish the Penal Consultative Council. ::Also invited Minister to give a keynote address at IPRT 30 year anniversary event and sought a meeting to discuss priorities in more detail.
Details: IPRT letter to Minister for Justice on Priorities for 2025
Executive Director asked Ben Ryan before IPRT event about status of Inspection of Places of Detention Bill and asked that the Minister is urged to prioritise it. - Informal communicationExecutive Director met Oonagh McPhillips at seminar and spoke with her beforehand about asking Minister to speak at IPRT event. - Informal communicationLetter sent by email on 7 February 2025 - Letter
Details: Sent a copy of ICOS' General Election Manifesto and requested that the proposals are taken into consideration for policy positions. Proposals included housing, education and immigration considerations. The manifesto was send to heads of policy in each party also.
Intent: To accept an invitation to a round table meeting to share the knowledge and learning of CES Project: Safer Lives, Safer Streets in collaboration with University of Limerick and Queens University Belfast
Details: Invitation to a meeting to share information on the work of CES in SLSS
Intent: Implementation of Programme for Government commitments and priorities outlined in the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024
Details: Key government commitments and priorities on penal reform
ED met Ben Ryan on 3 July to discuss implementation of Programme for Government commitments and other priority actions identified in Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform including ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, proposed introduction of parole regulations, establishment of Penal Consultative Council, timeline for updated prisoner complaints policy and review of prison rule and measures to tackle prison overcrowding. - Meeting
Intent: 1) Policy change to allow the small number of Irish people wishing to return to Ireland while on licence from the UK to do so; 2) Improvements to current process to make it quicker and more efficient thus enabling transfers of Irish prisoners back to Ireland close to families; 3) Improvements to the situation of Foreign National prisoners in Irish prisons.
Details: 1) Seeking to progress current situation regarding Irish people released on licence in UK; 2) Seeking to progress the repatriation of Irish prisoners overseas wishing to return to Ireland; 3) Discussing recent research on Foreign National Prisoners in Irish prisons by Maynooth University in partners, ...
One letter sent by Bishop Paul Dempsey, Chair, ICPO to An Taoiseach and one reply letter received from the Taoiseach's office. - LetterTwo e-mails from Mr Thomas Pringle TD with responses from the Minister for Justice to a PQ he had asked on behalf of ICPO - recorded in last Lobbying period). - EmailTwo virtual meetings held on Zoom. Meetings were had with Ms Caron McCaffrey and other officials from the Irish Prison Service and with Mr Ben Ryan from the Department of Justice and other officials attended. - Virtual Meeting
Intent: Appropriate administration of public funds.
Details: Complaint regarding withdrawal of funding for GYDP project without sufficient rationale provided- complaint was particularly directed at the communications of DOJ PO Deaglan O' Briain. (This was not considered to be lobbying activity by the organisation- the organisation was not lobbying for revisio, ...
Conference event held in Newry, on 14 March, co-hosted by IPRT and NIACRO, examining challenges in the Criminal Justice System for the State and identifying opportunities for improvement, followed by group discussions on the opportunities for change. Key stakeholders in criminal justice systems, North and South, in attendance. - Event / Reception
On 17 April, IPRT held a roundtable event with key stakeholders in the criminal justice system and related services, to promote consideration of implementing a similar approach to the UK Invisible Walls model around family-friendly prison visits. - Event / Reception
Saoirse Brady, Executive Director, attended the launch of the Criminal justice Open Research Dialogue (CORD) Partnership to engage with key stakeholders (community sector, public sector, academics, etc) to highlight areas in need to reform and to discuss progression of penal policy. - Event / Reception
