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.
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
This booklet aims to help prisoners understand the rights they have while in prison. It is written in everyday language and is informative and easy to use.
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.
26th January 2021
The fourth edition of Progress in the Penal System necessarily took a different approach than in previous years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
25th January 2021
PRESS RELEASE: Improvements made during pandemic threatened by risk of return to ‘old normal’ according to PIPS 2020 report.
10th December 2020
The UN Human Rights Committee has published its list of issues in relation to the fifth periodic report of Ireland under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
24th November 2020
Summary of critical issues detailed in the seventhreport on places of detention in Ireland from the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Degrading Treatment (CPT), which was published today.
24th November 2020
MEDIA ADVISORY: IPRT response to the publication of the seventh report on Ireland from the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Degrading Treatment (CPT).
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.