IPRT promotes a penal system that is: humane as experienced by people who are detained, protects and promotes human rights and equality, and strives to achieve international best practice in formal regimes, daily practices and overall culture.
It is the sentence of deprivation of liberty in itself that is the core punitive sanction, the conditions and treatment while in prison should not be used as additional punishment.
Accordingly, we believe that while restrictions on the freedom of movement are necessarily introduced while in prison, prisoners should retain all other rights to the greatest possible degree while serving their sentences. In particular, IPRT believes that prisoners have the right to be treated with dignity and respect for their rights; they have the right to safety and security of the person, the right to be treated humanely and be free from torture, degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment.
We work to ensure that regimes in prisons and children detention facilities are humane, and reflect human rights standards as a minimum in the short term, striving for international best practice in the medium to long term.
7th January 2022
This is the Irish Penal Reform Trust’s first submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The submission makes the overarching point that Ireland is over-reliant on imprisonment as a response to social issues and socio-economic disadvantage.
12th November 2021
IPRT summarises the recommendations relating to the work of IPRT made by States during the review, following the adoption and publication of the Draft Report on Friday 12th November.
10th November 2021
PRESS NOTICE: Ireland’s human rights record, including its failure to ratify international human rights treaties and its treatment of people in prison, will be examined by the UN Human Rights Council Working Group as part of Ireland’s third Universal Period Review (UPR) from 13.30 today.
5th November 2021
IPRT welcomes the Irish Prison Service (IPS) decision to review and update the Prison Rules 2007, and particularly welcomes the public consultation held in respect of this review.
7th October 2021
IPRT was one of the civil society organisations chosen to make a statement at the pre-session meeting of Ireland’s UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 7th October 2021.
4th October 2021
Upgrades in prison infrastructure in the NDP include plans to provide additional capacity at open centres and to end slopping out in E Bock in Portlaoise.
27th September 2021
In this short guide, the key requirements of the European Prison Rules are highlighted by Penal Reform International, with an asterisk (*) placed next to any rule that was brought in after the 2020 revision.
6th April 2021
This submission outlines gaps in the State's Initial Report under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and makes recommendations for strengthening the State's Initial Report. This submission draws heavily on the findings of IPRT's 'Making Rights Real' report.
25th March 2021
The IPRT submission to the UN UPR focuses on the protection and promotion of human rights in Irish prisons and Oberstown Child Detention Campus. The submission also examines rights issues arising from Covid-19 and related restrictions.
25th February 2021
The Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Irish Criminal Bar Association hosted a seminar on The Prison Rules: Current Impact and Opportunities for Reform online on Thursday 25th February 2021 at 4pm, via Zoom.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.