Prisons

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has set out its strategic plan for the next three years, with a strong focus on improvements to transparency and governance. The strategy has been built around five pillars: staff support; prisoner support; safe and secure custody; the prison estate; and governance.

Life sentence prisoners in Ireland serve an average of 17-and-a-half years in custody, according to the latest figures from the Parole Board. The Parole Board reviewed 122 prisoners over the course of 2018 and recommended seven long-sentence prisoners for reviewable temporary release, according to i

Northern Ireland's criminal justice agencies will today meet with the head of the NI Prison Service following a news report on the number of post-custody deaths in the past five years. A total of 23 people have died within a fortnight of being released from prison in the past five years, according t

Prisons expert Professor Phil Scraton has called for an independent inquiry into mental health services in Northern Ireland prisons after an internal review was postponed again. Former Justice Minister Claire Sudgen announced a review of procedures regarding vulnerable people in custody in 2016, but

A majority of Irish employers would be willing to hire an ex-offender if they were provided with support to do so, according to new research by SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority. SOLAS and Mountjoy Prison are jointly hosting an event at Ibec's offices today on the benefit to workpl

Criminology lecturer Dr Ian Marder and postgraduate student AnnMarie Maher of Maynooth University Department of Law consider the needs of children of imprisoned parents. The children of imprisoned parents suffer some of the worst unintended harms caused by criminal justice systems. It is estimated t

A prison has installed a stairlift for elderly inmates amid an increase in requests for walking frames, thermal underwear and wedge pillows, The Times reports. Cells and showers have also been adapted to accommodate inmates with mobility problems.

A female prison officer with 25 years' service with the Irish Prison Service has been awarded €20,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission after it was found that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of gender. Finding that gender discrimination had occurred when the officer had b

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled plans to "overhaul the criminal justice system" in England and Wales by reviewing sentencing policy, investing £2.5 billion in the construction of new prisons, and strengthening police stop-and-search powers. A review team reporting back to Mr Johnson

The High Court will hear a judicial review over conditions at Portlaoise Prison next month. Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington yesterday granted permission to Frederick 'Freddie' Thompson, 39, to bring the challenge, which she made returnable to a date in September, The Irish Times reports.

A show garden created by prisoners in Maghaberry Prison has won a National Trust Gold Award. Using a range of recycled materials and bedding plants grown in the maximum security facility, 14 prisoners built the garden which features a train – the Maghaberry Flyer – and track, reflecting

New figures revealing that the number of women prisoners in Northern Ireland has reached a five-year high have sparked calls for the establishment of a dedicated women's prison. As of this month, there are 84 women prisoners in Northern Ireland, most of them accommodated in Ash House at Hydebank Woo

Republicans in Maghaberry Prison have launched a legal challenge for access to the prison library. Prisoners on the Roe House wing of the facility are currently not allowed to visit the library or withdraw books.

Whistleblowing allegations from current and former prison officers made up the majority of protected disclosures received by the Department of Justice in 2018. In its protected disclosures annual report, it was revealed that 11 of the 13 cases it received related to the Irish Prison Service, the Iri

Far greater numbers of prison officers are injured by inmates than was previously thought, a new recording system has shown. Figures from the Irish Prison Service on ‘restraint interventions’ indicate that there were 137 incidents in 2018, as compared to 91 in 2017, when recording of the