Journal.ie: ‘A long way from normal’: Families say visits to prison still restricted post-pandemic

29th November 2023

In November 2023, the Journal's Noteworthy initiative reported on their investigation of prison visits. IPRT Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, comments in the piece, with information included from our Children and Families Project Coordinator, Ashling Tobin.

Some key points from the investigation:

• Number of people in prison is up but visiting is still down from pre-pandemic levels
• Visiting varied greatly between prisons
• Prison overcrowding and staff shortages mean that rights on paper aren’t always fulfilled in practice
• Prison visits for families have been cancelled
• Lack of clarity for families over visiting rules - how often they can visit in-person or through video call and how many children can visit.

Read part one of the investigation: ‘A long way from normal’: Families say visits to prison still restricted post-pandemic

Read part two of the investigation: ‘Children don’t deserve this’: Visiting an imprisoned parent is ‘traumatising’.

Listen to the podcast: The Explainer x Noteworthy: Are kids being locked out from jailed parents?

Read more about IPRT's work relating to children and families of people in prison, on our dedicated website: www.actionforfamilies.ie