Irish Prison System
In 2012, the average cost of imprisonment per prisoner in Ireland was €65, 404. The current prison population is 4, 306. That’s an estimated 282, 000,000 of the tax payers money spent on prisons in Ireland per annum.
Introduction
This Irish prison system consists of 15 different institutions. This is made up of eleven traditional ‘closed’ prisons, two ‘open’ prisons, a training prison and a prison for young offenders. All of our prisons are termed medium-low security, apart from Portlaoise prison; a male only prison and our countries only high security prison. The purpose of a prison is to retain those legally committed of a crime as punishment or whilst they await trial.
‘The mission of the Irish prison service (as stated in their 2010 Annual Report) is to provide safe, secure and humane custody for people who are sent to prison. The Service is committed to managing custodial sentences in a way which encourages and supports prisoners in their endeavouring to live law abiding and purposeful lives as valued members of society.’
This essay will examine the capital which is currently spent on the Irish prison system and assess if the Irish prison system merits the money which it expends. Is €65,404 a reasonable amount to spend on the legal punishment of one individual, and are the systems in place effective in providing our prisoners with rehabilitation and social regeneration? Utilising these findings the discussion will attempt to offer alternative systems of punishment to imprisonment.
Poor Conditions
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an examination of Irish prison conditions in January- February 2010. The report described ‘degrading’ behaviour and ‘un-hygienic’ conditions. An examination of Portlaoise prison’s E-block discovered inadequate and unacceptable sanitary facilities.
The cells were small (6m²) and some of them were dilapidated with broken windows and
Introduction
This Irish prison system consists of 15 different institutions. This is made up of eleven traditional ‘closed’ prisons, two ‘open’ prisons, a training prison and a prison for young offenders. All of our prisons are termed medium-low security, apart from Portlaoise prison; a male only prison and our countries only high security prison. The purpose of a prison is to retain those legally committed of a crime as punishment or whilst they await trial.
‘The mission of the Irish prison service (as stated in their 2010 Annual Report) is to provide safe, secure and humane custody for people who are sent to prison. The Service is committed to managing custodial sentences in a way which encourages and supports prisoners in their endeavouring to live law abiding and purposeful lives as valued members of society.’
This essay will examine the capital which is currently spent on the Irish prison system and assess if the Irish prison system merits the money which it expends. Is €65,404 a reasonable amount to spend on the legal punishment of one individual, and are the systems in place effective in providing our prisoners with rehabilitation and social regeneration? Utilising these findings the discussion will attempt to offer alternative systems of punishment to imprisonment.
Poor Conditions
The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an examination of Irish prison conditions in January- February 2010. The report described ‘degrading’ behaviour and ‘un-hygienic’ conditions. An examination of Portlaoise prison’s E-block discovered inadequate and unacceptable sanitary facilities.
The cells were small (6m²) and some of them were dilapidated with broken windows and
References: * Lonergan, J. 2010. The Governor. Dublin: Penguin Ireland. * O’Donnell, I. and O’Sullivan. E. 2001. Crime Control in Ireland: The politics of Intolerance. Cork: Cork University Press. * O’Mahony, P. 2000. Prison Policy in Ireland: Criminal Justice versus Social Justice. Cork: Cork University Press. * Thompson, N. 2007. More Streetwise: Stories from Irish Prisons. Mullingar: Killynon House Books Ltd. * Looney, C. 2009. €200k for prison gyms as garda budget slashed. The Evening Herald: Ireland [Online], 05 March. Available from: http://www.herald.ie/news/200k-for-prison-gyms-as-garda-budget-slashed-27903752.html [Accessed 09 May 2013]. * Matthews-Lynch, C. 2010. Are prisons a waste of money? [Online] BA, Dublin City University. Available: http://carlymatthews.me/writings/college/2nd-year/cm261-crime-the-media/ [Last Accessed 09 May 2013]. [ 2 ]. O’Mahony, 2000. (p.13) [ 3 ] [ 4 ]. CPT, 2010. (p. 41) [ 5 ] [ 6 ]. JCFJ, 2012. (p.39) [ 7 ] [ 8 ]. Looney, 2009 [ 9 ] [ 10 ]. Kelly, 2010 [ 11 ] [ 12 ]. Irish Prison System, 2012 [ 13 ] [ 16 ]. Howard, 1996. (p.18) [ 17 ] [ 18 ]. Larvery, 2013. [ 19 ]. CPT, 2010. (p.15) [ 20 ] [ 21 ]. Irish Examiner, 2010 [ 22 ] [ 23 ]. Lavery, 2013 [ 24 ] [ 25 ]. Thompson, 2007. (p.9)