On average, women make up around 3.8% of the prison population, with a large number of committals concerning non-violent offences. Additionally, the majority are detained on short-term sentences. However, the impact of even short-term imprisonment on these women and their families is profound. The economic and social costs to society at large arising from the imprisonment of women are also significant.
In 2020, there were 649 female committals, compared to 155 female committals in 1999. The rate of female prison committals has risen more rapidly than for males since 2011. In addition, there continues to be significant numbers of women imprisoned for failing to pay court-ordered fines, despite the Fines (Payment and Recovery Act) 2014 which came into operation in January 2016. In 2020, 10% of female committals to prison were for non-payment of court-ordered fines – more than double the comparable figure of men (3.8%).
Major concerns remain in relation to overcrowding in both of the country’s female prisons – the Dóchas Centre and a female wing in Limerick Prison. The detention of women for immigration-related reasons is also a concern for IPRT. IPRT remains committed to working towards major policy change in relation to imprisonment of women in Ireland, with a central focus on the provision of alternatives to detention and open prison provision for women.
8th March 2021
The report considers the post-conviction problems faced by women with criminal records.
4th March 2021
MEDIA ADVISORY: IPRT welcomes the publication of a new Probation Service research report on the prevalence of mental health problems among persons under probation supervision.
26th January 2021
The Irish Independent has published an opinion article by IPRT Executive Director Fíona Ní Chinnéide discussing Ireland’s overreliance on imprisonment as a response to marginalised women.
10th December 2020
IPRT was one of 83 global civil society organisations that joined the Penal Reform International 'Call to Action' urging governments to implement the UN Bangkok Rules in full.
17th November 2020
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has published statistics on three-year reoffending (recidivism) for those sentenced to probation in 2014, in conjunction with one-year reoffending rates for the years 2008-2016.
25th September 2020
MEDIA ADVISORY: A joint statement from the Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice in response to reports in the national press about the culture and environment endured by female prisoners and staff in the Dóchas Centre at Mountjoy.
8th September 2020
The Irish Examiner has today reported on an unpublished prison chaplain report on Dóchas Centre for 2019, which is reported to find that that women in the Dóchas Centre are subject to chronic overcrowding, decreasing out-of-cell time, xenophobic abuse, and find it "next to impossible" for the women to book family visits, including with their children.
24th August 2020
The second report from the Irish Prison Service Self-Harm Assessment and Data Analysis (SADA) Project, has been published.
5th August 2020
The Probation Service Annual Report 2019 was published by the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, on 5th August 2020.
3rd July 2020
The Committee finds that the right to family life of children whose mothers are in prison in England and Wales risks being breached, and proposes that the Government ends the blanket ban on children visiting prisons.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.