Women's Prison System In Ireland Case Study

Is Ireland’s current women’s prison system fit for purpose? 1500w

Throughout this essay the author aims to examine the prison system in Ireland, in particular the author will focus on the impact of the system on female inmates. A thorough exploration of the women’s prison system will be undertaken in order to establish the level to which this system is fit for purpose. The author intends to critically assess the system and its implications on women and wider society. The author will evaluate the rehabilitation services available to the inmates, as well as the general resources of the prisons necessary for the smooth running of such a system. The possibility of a need for alternative sentencing measures for women offenders will also be discussed
The facilities for confining women have been highlighted as inadequate in numerous evaluations of the system, both at an academic and governmental level.
A proliferation of new metal, cage like barriers and steel meshing in the passageways and landings of the women's prison fails to disguise the gloomy Victorian penitentiary but rather adds dramatically to the brutal, demoralising spirit of the place.
(O’Mahony 1996, p.101)
The Dochas Centre allowed for a rejuvenation of the facilities for women prisoners in Ireland. However, overcrowding has since rendered these facilities ineffective and incapable of being used as intended.
One house was designed as a step down facility for women coming near the end of their sentences. This house is divided into a number of apartments designed to mirror accommodation in the community. Due to the overcrowding of the Centre this house is now used for normal prison accommodation purposes.
(O’Reilly 2013,
The resources available to the women in custody have been shown to be lacking and inadequate, with serious cases of overcrowding. A lack of alternatives forces judges to sentence women to short prison sentences, which both impacts on overcrowding and has been proven to propagate crime upon release. In conjunction with this, short term prison sentences do not allow adequate time for rehabilitation for the women in custody, and as such the underlying causes of criminal behaviour is not dealt with and behaviour patterns are not altered. Consequently, upon release female offenders are thrust into a society with which they have conflicting normative behaviours and without post-release supports there is very little chance of the women developing these alone. Rehabilitation of prisoners is an essential feature of an efficient prison system, without it prisoners are released with the same norms they held upon sentencing and will continue to act in accordance with those norms and in breach of laws. The Irish women’s prison system has made positive changes in recent times with the development of the Dochas Centre, but more must be done to ensure the women being released are both rehabilitated and fully supported to ensure they are not recommitted. Until the issues discussed in this essay are resolved, the women’s prison system in Ireland can not be described as fit for