The launch of the Penal Reform and Sentencing Report took place yesterday [10 May 2018] in Leinster House, and was attended by representatives from key stakeholders including the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice (JCFJ).

Walking out the prison door is a particularly vulnerable time for people and support is needed. Ten years after introducing a pilot Integrated Sentence Management (ISM) programme, which aimed to be ‘prisoner-centred’ and have a ‘multidisciplinary approach’, what progress has been made in preparing people for leaving prison?

Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan will launch the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD) 20th Annual Conference Report ‘The Brexit Impact on Criminal Justice Cooperation in Ireland’ on Tuesday, April  17th at the Criminal Courts of Justice.

This Mothers’ Day, we think of mothers who have partners in prison. The families of individuals who are in prison have done nothing wrong, yet experience massive hardship as a result, including shame, isolation and for children, the trauma of separation from a parent. 

‘A Prisoner in the Family’ is an article by Deputy Director of the JCFJ, Eoin Carroll, which appeared in the November 2017 issue of The Sacred Heart Messenger magazine.

On Prisoner Sunday (12th November), Eoin Carroll, Deputy Director of the JCFJ, delivered a homily at St Francis Xavier Church, Dublin, based on the parable of the ten virgins which emphasises the need for preparation in order to be able to make good decisions.  

The UN Committee Against Torture has published its concluding observations from the second periodic review of Ireland, which took place in July. The examination, by ten independent human rights experts, was to assess Ireland’s adherence to the United Nations ‘Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’.

The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) will examine Ireland this week about its progress and compliance with the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The second periodic review under the convention will take place this Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July, at United Nations headquarters in Geneva,… Read more »

Irish prisoners are locked up for on average seventeen hours a day, and this routine has not changed in thirty years. So said Eoin Carroll, Advocacy and Social Policy Research Officer in the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice.

The latest report from the Central Statistics Office shows that half of young adults in prison re-offend within three years upon release. Clearly, a different approach is needed. Community programmes allow those who have caused harm to ‘pay back’ for the hurt caused, to make reparation.