Prisons

Two of Ireland's largest prisons are facing suspected outbreaks of Covid-19. A firearms trial at the Special Criminal Court was postponed this morning due to a suspected outbreak at Mountjoy Prison, according to reports.

Andrew Desmond, associate at William Fry, examines a recent investigation by the Data Protection Commission (DPC). The Data Protection Commission has found a security system used in Irish prisons to be in breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) after investigating a complaint by a pr

Plans for a new joint "care and justice campus" for children and young people, incorporating the existing Lakewood Regional Secure Care Centre and Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre, have gone out for consultation. Justice Minister Naomi Long said the combined campus would help to reduce offending an

Staff at Oberstown Children's Detention Campus have threatened to strike over the placement of a young woman into a new mixed-gender unit. Trade union Fórsa said its members were not consulted on the establishment of the new unit and have concerns about the impact on detainees and staff.

Prison visits are set to be "temporarily suspended" in Northern Ireland from Friday evening following a tightening of Covid-19 restrictions. The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) said the decision was made "following a discussion with the Justice Minister" and in response to further restriction

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) has replaced much of its vehicle fleet with electric vehicles, helping to reduce its vehicle maintenance costs by a half in three years. The Prison Escorting and Court Custody Service (PECCS) based at Maghaberry Prison maintains and services a fleet of 99 p

A new framework for the inspection of Irish prisons has been published by the Inspector of Prisons, Patricia Gilheaney. The new framework, which has been welcomed by penal rights campaigners, draws upon relevant international human rights standards, in particular the preventive approach, and standar

A report into the Dóchas Centre has revealed that its inmates are faced with problems including severe overcrowding, xenophobic and threatening language, as well as difficulties arranging visits. The Irish Examiner said the report, which was obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of

The Department of Justice has revealed that the Northern Ireland Prison Service has had its first positive COVID-19 test. A man remanded into custody to Maghaberry Prison on Thursday 3 September tested positive for the virus.

Prisons in Northern Ireland will resume offender management programmes on a phased basis under a further easing of prison restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prisons will also work with their education partners to resume some class-based learning under the latest easing, which foll

The Irish prison system has had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 after a 23-year-old female remand prisoner tested positive. When the inmate arrived at the Dóchas Centre for Women in Dublin, she was required to self-isolate for 14 days and was tested for COVID-19 as part of standard proce

Some prisoners are still forced to "slop out" despite repeated government promises to the end the practice. According to the latest figures released by Justice Minister Helen McEntee, 51 inmates – around one per cent of the total Irish prison population – are still slopping out.

The amount of illicit homemade alcohol seized in Irish prisons nearly tripled in the first half of 2020, according to new figures. A total of 541 litres of alcohol were seized between 1 January 2020 and 11 July 2020, compared to 395 litres for the whole of 2019, The Irish Times reports.

The number of prisoners released on a temporary basis in Northern Ireland has declined by more than a third over five years, figures show. A total of 666 prisoners were released on a temporary basis on at least one occasion in 2015, but the number has declined in each consecutive year.

Successful efforts to keep COVID-19 out of Irish prisons came at a "significant cost to the mental health and wellbeing of the people subject to special measures", a new report has found. The Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP), in conjunction with legal academics at Maynooth University, has pu