Penal PolicyPenal Policy
IPRT believes that there is a need for a clear and coherent Irish penal policy, which sets out both the strategic goals of the penal system and the function of each element of the system.
Our vision is for an Irish penal system which respects the rights of all stakeholders in that system and where imprisonment is a sanction of last resort. In general, we believe that the emphasis of our penal system needs to move towards focussing on diverting young offenders and at risk groups away from offending behaviour at the entry points to the penal system.
IPRT believes that penal policy should be underpinned by evidence of what has been demonstrated to be effective both in Ireland and in other jurisdictions. Effectiveness in this context is taken to mean the approaches to offending behaviour which reduce the risk of re-offending and which are seen to have the greatest social and economic benefits while minimising potential social and economic harm.
Key issues for IPRT in relation to the development of Irish penal policy at the present time include challenging aspects of the proposed prison building programme, and highlighting the continuing expansion of our prison population.
IPRT Position Paper 6: Planning the Future of Irish Prisons 22nd September 2009 
A Position Paper setting out the main issues relating to planning for the future of the prison system including the size of the prison population. Read more
IPRT Position Paper 5: Penal Policy with Imprisonment as a Last Resort 21st September 2009
A Position Paper setting out IPRT's vision for a penal system where imprisonment is used only as a last resort. Read more
"Do Better Do Less" - report from the Commission on English Prisons Today 2nd July 2009 
A landmark report into the prison system has been published today. The report of the Commission on English Prisons Today takes a radical look at the purposes and limits of a penal system and how it should sit alongside other social policies. Read more
IPRT Position Paper Thornton Hall 2nd June 2009
A Position Paper which sets out our concerns about the present proposals and makes recommendations as to how the present project, if it goes ahead, can better reflect human rights standards, international best practice and the principles of progressive penal reform. Read more
IPRT Position Paper 1: Thornton Hall 2nd June 2008
A Position Paper setting out IPRT's position on Thornton Hall. Read more
Putting Prison in its Place 5th November 2005
This address, given to the Annual Conference of the Irish Association for the Study of Delinquency, argues that the building of Thornton Hall prison is "at odds with the requirements of necessity, parsimony and proportionality ... and reinforces the idea of prison as the centre of the penal system rather… Read more
Impact of Parental Imprisonment on Children 28th June 2002
The Centre for Social and Educational Research, DIT, released a report investigating the effects of parental imprisonment on children. Despite the fact that those directly affected by imprisonment far exceed the number of those who are actually serving custodial sentences the topic has to date received little formal attention in… Read more
Crime and poverty: Submission to the National Crime Forum 30th January 1998
This article portrays the Combat Poverty Agency’s appreciation for the establishment of the long needed National Crime Forum for the creation of public policy on crime and the responses to crime. Read more