Ireland
Europe
Health
Ireland
Senator Mary Seery Kearney spoke with prison officials in recent days after receiving a number of queries from members of the public. She said a scheme, which will be part of the Assisted Reproduction Bill, will allow prisoners to take part in fertility treatment and the service will be available t…
Source — The Irish Examiner
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Europe
Justice
Ireland
A man jailed for an “odious and gut-wrenching” assault on his former girlfriend has brought High Court proceedings over a 14-day period of detention that left him in “almost solitary confinement” following an outbreak of Covid-19. Lee Goodchild (30), of Auburn Village, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, was…
Source — The Irish Times
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Coronavirus
Europe
Social ties
Ireland
Justice Minister Helen McEntee confirmed in a response to a parliamentary question by Right to Change TD Joan Collins that while 11,079 children physically visited an adult in prison last year, so far in 2021 the comparable figure is 2,238 children. Physical visits to prisons were suspended for som…
Source — Irish Examiner
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Culture
Europe
Activities
Rehabilitation
Work
Ireland
The Mountjoy and Maynooth University (MJMU) project aims to become a template across the prison service to “disrupt the inevitability” of a life in and out of the prison system for many offenders.
Dr Rose Ryan, director of the access programme in MU, said while the university was already involved i…
Source — Irish Times
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Ireland: managing uncertainty
Analysis
Coronavirus
Europe
Material conditions
Activities
Social ties
Ireland
As the COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suprised most governments, how did the Irish authorities respond to the crisis behind the bars? Were prison authorities prepared to avoid the spread of the virus? Which measures were taken and how did them impact prisoners’ lives?
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Ireland: prison service and HSE seek to put new supports in place to reduce self-harm in prisons
News
Europe
Health
Ireland
A new tender request jointly issued by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention and the Irish Prison Service said they want to “gain greater insight into the effectiveness of current practices being used in the prison service to manage self-harm and suicidality” and “obtain research and imple…
Source — Irish examiner
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Europe
Health
Drugs
Ireland
More than €3.7m has been spent by the Irish Prison Service on medications for inmates over the past two years.
The bill at a single prison can be in excess of €50,000 a month, according to the data, with costs highest at the Midlands Prison in Co Laois.
The Irish Prison Service said many of those s…
Source — Irish examiner
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Coronavirus
Europe
Overcrowding
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service has insisted that it is effectively dealing with potential crowding issues at jails across the country.
The number of prisoners has been rising as more remand court cases and more trials are taking place.
But with the COVID crisis looming over the prison system, bosses say…
Source — Irish mirror
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Ireland: social distress in prison
Interview
Europe
Discipline
Mental health
Material conditions
Ireland
After a significant reform in Irish prisons, the CPT remains concerned about the conditions of detention in segregation cells and for mentally ill prisoners. A member of the monitoring body told us what she observed.
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Women
Europe
Access to legal rights
Material conditions
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is set to spend more than €1.6m on bras, underwear, anoraks, and other items of clothing for inmates over the next three years.
Nighties, dressing gowns, and tracksuits are among 30 categories of clothing sought by the IPS in an invitation for tenders. The successful…
Source — Irish examiner
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Coronavirus
Europe
Health
Ireland
THE RELEASE OF some prisoners is one option being considered by the Irish Prison Service to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading through prisons.
In a statement this evening, a spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said that it was in discussions with the Department of Justice and Equality on…
Source — The journal
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Europe
Violence
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service is using a “high risk” system to keep rival gang members separated, according to a report by the Inspector of Prisons.
Source — The Irish Times
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Europe
Health
Ireland
The Director of the Central Mental Hospital has said the case of a brain-damaged homeless man in prison is “far from rare”.
Professor Harry Kennedy said there is a caseload of around 250 people in the prisons with severe mental illnesses or disorders.
Yesterday, the President of the High Court, M…
Source — RTÉ
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Women
Europe
Ireland
A total of 23 pregnant women have been in custody in the country’s two female prisons so far this year, new figures have revealed.
Source — Irish Examiner
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Europe
Overcrowding
Ireland
The Irish Prison Service said more people are being sent to prison and overcrowding has once again become an issue in Irish prisons. The number of inmates has increased by 11% in the last two years, with more than 4,000 people now in custody on a regular basis. Remand prisoners have increased by mo…
Source — RTE
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Europe
Ireland
Staff exceeded remit and engaged in unacceptable practices, Minister for Justice says.
Source — Irish Times
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Europe
Ireland
Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has expressed “grave concern” at the handling of deaths in prisons, according to internal prison service correspondence seen by the Irish Examiner.
The minister’s concern followed a recent inquest in Cork which heard that CCTV footage showed that a written reco…
Source — The Irish Examiner
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Europe
Health
Ireland
Figures show 26 prisoners and nine officers contracted contagious disease over 10 years.
Source — Irish Times
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