Prisons Act 2007 Analysis

Prisons Act 2007
This Act provided for the establishment of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, the contracting out of prisoner escort and transfers, construction and extension of prisons and also for the authority to draft new prison rules which resulted in the Prison Rules 2007. Privatisation of prisons was never introduced. The privatisation model was used instead to build prisons, using the public-private partnership model.
Despite the plans to build new prisons and the accommodation issues Shanganagh Castle and Fort Mitchel were closed. As there were only a small number of prisoners in Shanganagh they could easily be transferred to St Patricks and the staff located elsewhere. Both decisions to close the prisons were based on financial
This was in keeping with McDowell’s commitment for greater accountability. Dermot Kinlen was first until death and then Judge Michael Reilly (former district court judge) took over. Both produced reports highlighting the poor prison conditions, overcrowding issues and lack of educational, training and health facilities. The Inspector of Prisons in still in operation today.
Projects such as ‘CONNECT’ was given funding in the national development plan. CONNECT was designed to increase the employability of prisons upon release. Financial considerations again effected this project as the funding for it was cut. Other initiatives such as ‘Building Better Lives’ project were introduced in 2009 which aim was to deal with the causes of sexual offending and address such behaviour by a variety of therapeutic mechanisms. Other plans to develop a system of ‘positive’ and ‘integrated’ sentence management for all prisoners were announced.
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) was established and is responsible for the management and operational aspects of the prison system. The Department maintained control of all policy although many have argued that the IPS has had some effect on the creation of policy in terms of managing space and operations on a daily
The Annual Report of the Inspector of Prisons, 2008 characterised the conditions as ‘constituting inhuman and degrading treatment’. For 30 per cent of the prison, slopping out was still the norm. Ireland did not have a prisons ombudsman, deaths in custody were only investigated internally or by ad hoc commissions. There was no dedicated or specialised body to conduct such investigation. There is no facility to expunge a conviction in Ireland. All these issues remained hidden due to the focus of attention being deflected towards accommodation issues. It took over 60 years to introduce new prison rules and there was also a lack of a consolidated Prisons Act. In 1994 the Penal Reform Trust was established and is now the leading penal reform organisation in Ireland.
Since 2011, Irish prison policy was of the idea that if the individual did not pose a risk to society then they could be dealt with outside of prisons. The Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 was designed to divert people from custody. This new Act in conjunction, the Community Return Scheme and the Probation service resulted in the number in custody reducing by almost 600 in 5