Building more prisons is a “misguided” approach to the problem of crime, Labour Party Justice spokesman Aodhán Ó Ríordáin has said, adding that Ireland needs a “fundamental change in approach” to the justice system.
Reacting this week to reports from the Prison Officers’ Association which said that problems of overcrowding, drug abuse and attacks in prisons are getting worse, the Dublin Bay North TD said that the prison system “is currently not working to prevent re-offending, to protect victims of crime or to keep society safe.”
A “STAGGERING FAILURE” TO “RECOGNISE PRISONERS AS INDIVIDUALS IN NEED OF SUPPORT”
“Instead, it is marked by pernicious overcrowding,” he said.
“This has had a knock-on effect on prison conditions. I’ve visited Mountjoy on a number of occasions in the last few years myself. Prison conditions generally were poor with huge overcrowding problems and inadequate conditions.”
The TD said that during Fine Gael’s 13 years in office, there has been a “staggering failure” to “recognise prisoners as individuals in need of support and rehabilitation.”
“APPROACH OF BUILDING MORE PRISONS” IS “MISGUIDED”…“PRISON SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT”
“The approach of building more prisons, advocated by Fine Gael and Minister McEntee, is a misguided attempt to address symptoms rather than root causes,” he said.
“We have seen a persistent disregard for expert recommendations advocating for community-based sanctions over incarceration. It is time for Fine Gael to wake up and heed the overwhelming evidence that prison should be a last resort, with greater emphasis on rehabilitation and reducing re-offending rates.”
GOVERNMENT SHOULD “FOCUS ON REHABILITATION”
He added: “We call on Government to prioritise comprehensive reform, focus on rehabilitation and community-based solutions.
“Additionally, there must be a role for the judiciary to be more connected with the realities of prison life so that they fully understand the impact of their judgements. We cannot afford to perpetuate a broken system that only serves to further harm individuals and our community. It’s time for urgent action.”
Last year the former governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan, told RTÉ’s This Week that overcrowding has been a problem for decades in Ireland.
The last prison opened in Ireland was the Midlands Prison in County Laois, which was opened in 2000, at a time when the Republic of Ireland had a population of 3.8 million.
Today, the Republic’s population is over 5.1 million.
In 2005, then-Justice Minister Michael McDowell planned to create a super prison on Spike Island, though the plan never ultimately went ahead. There was also previously a plan to create a super prison at Thornton Hall in north Dublin, with the site being purchased by the government for €50m in the mid-2000s, with the intent of building a prison on the 150-acre site. However, this plan also stalled.
While Justice Minister Helen McEntee has said she is considering building a new prison here, the Prison Officers Association has said this will not happen, and that the Ministers announcement of 670 additional prison spaces over the next several years is a repeat of a promise made last year which failed to materialise.