28th August 2010
On RTÉ's Marian Finucane Show, Charlie Bird (standing in for Marian) discussed prisons in this country with Prof Ian O’Donnell (director with UCD’s Institute of Criminology), Catherine McGuinness (President of the Law Reform Commission and a former justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland) and Lisa Cuthbert (director of PACE).
The in-depth discussion on imprisonment in Ireland explored its effectiveness (or not) as punishment, focussing on issues around the availability of rehabilitation services (and indeed the lack of information about services), drugs in prison and drug treatment in prison, and more.
Kierán and Andy, who have served time in prison, also spoke about their experience - both of prison and of rehabilitation, in particular the U-Casadh programme. Among the serious issues raised were the lack of access to information about rehabilitative services in prison (both considered themselves lucky for meeting the right person at the right time - when this information should be freely available to all.)
They also described their experiences of being in prison, including the criminogenic aspects of imprisonment.
Well worth a listen!
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Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.