Ivana Bacik

 

All-Party Group on Penal Reform: Briefing Seminar Series 2009-2010

(Initiated with the help of the Irish Penal Reform Trust)

 

Host: Senator Ivana Bacik

 

 

From working with colleagues in all parties over the last few years, it has become clear to me that there is a strong interest in issues relating to the penal system.

 

Issues around prison and punishment are of major concern to many Deputies and Senators and, with this in mind, I felt that it would be worthwhile to initiate a series of informal briefings on topical issues for interested members of the Oireachtas and their staff.  These seminars provide an opportunity for members of all parties to engage directly with leading experts in the field in private session and obtain briefings on current priorities for penal reform. 

 

I have hosted these seminars with the support of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), Ireland’s leading non-governmental organisation working in this area. Details of the events held to date are set out below.  The success of the events held to date has confirmed the high level of interest in these issues and we now hope to formalise this group, with the intention that it would convene four times a year.

 

Many thanks for all of your interest in this seminar series to date, and I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming briefings.

 

All the very best,

Ivana.

 

 

Overview of briefing seminars to date:

 

Briefing 16^th October 2009: Youth Justice in Ireland

 

The first IPRT briefing seminar examined the topic of Youth Justice in Ireland.

 

It explored the idea that while the Children Act 2001 and the National Youth Justice Strategy map out a new direction for the treatment of young offenders in Ireland, current challenges, including the treatment of serious offenders in Ireland, those with behavioural difficulties and those involved in anti-social behaviours, suggest that tensions persist in terms of the State’s approach to this delicate and complex area of law and policy. The seminar also provided an important overview of the pressing issues facing the Irish Youth Justice Service, and highlighted Ireland’s international obligations in this area.

 

The seminar was co-hosted by Deputy Mary O’ Rourke and Senator Ivana Bacik, and the guest speaker for the event was Dr. Ursula Kilkelly of UCC, Chairperson of the IPRT.

 

The seminar was attended by over 20 TDs, Senators, and guests.

 

 

Briefing 18th November 2009: Psychiatric Morbidity in Irish Prisons

 

The second IPRT Penal Reform Briefing explored the issue of mental illness in Irish prisons. The focus of interest for the seminar was on those with mental illness, who would be admitted to hospital or attend a community mental health clinic if they were in the community, and the talk was based on a systematic and representative survey of psychiatric morbidity in each part of the Irish Prison Population between 2002-2004.

 

Due to the numbers of committals that require a diversion to mental health services, the seminar raised the need for additional capacity at the Central Mental Hospital both for admission and for discharge to the community.

 

The seminar was presented by Professor Harry Kennedy, the Executive Clinical Director of the Central Mental Hospital Dundrum, and Clinical Professor of Forensic Psychiatry (TCD).

 

The seminar was attended by over 20 TDs, Senators, and guests.

 

 

Briefing 31^st March 2010: Overcrowding in Irish Prisons

 

The third IPRT Penal Reform Briefing explored ideas of Community Sanctions and Alternatives to Imprisonment.

 

The seminar addressed the topical issues of reform of our system of fines and the use of community sanctions as an alternative to imprisonment.

 

The guest speakers for the event were Dr. Mairead Seymour of the School of Social Sciences and Law (DIT) and Prof. Ian O’ Donnell of the Institute of Criminology (UCD).

 

 

Briefing 2^nd June 2010: ‘Life after Prison: Reintegration of Offenders and Spent Convictions’

The fourth IPRT Penal Reform Briefing will examine the challenges facing prisoners upon leaving prison and seeking to re-enter the community. The topics to be focused upon will include reintegration of offenders in the workplace; and the issue of spent convictions. The speakers are:

Tina Roche, Chief Executive of The Foundation for Investing in Communities in January 2000 and Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), involved in the NESF Project Team on the Reintegration of Prisoners.

Lisa Cuthbert, Director of PACE, the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland working exclusively with offenders and ex-offenders.