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THE UN HAS expressed concern at the number of people going to prison for failure to pay fines.
In an eight page document released by the international body’s Human Rights Committee yesterday, it said an alternative method needs to be looked at.
This is despite the adoption of Enforcement of Court Orders (amendment) Act 2009 and Fines (payment and recovery) Act 2014 by the State.
The UN committee said: “The State party should fully implement the Fines (payment and recovery) Act 2014 to provide for a community service order as an alternative to imprisonment used as a method of enforcing contractual obligations.”
Welcoming the recommendations the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) called on the Government to act on the committee’s recommendations “without delay”.
Deirdre Malone, executive director of the IPRT said: “The Committee is uncompromising in its statement that no one should be sent to prison for failure to pay fines or debts. The Fines Act 2014… must be fully implemented, and with urgency.
“In the meantime, Ireland continues to send thousands of people to prison every year for being unable to pay fines,” Malone said.
The committee also tells Ireland to ”step up its efforts” on improving living conditions for prisoners including addressing the practice of ‘slopping out’.
Currently over 300 prisoners are slopping out in prisons across Ireland.
It said improvements to living conditions, treatment of detainees, overcrowding and the practice of ‘slopping out’ should be looked at “as a matter of urgency” in line with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
In its observations the committee welcomed measures taken by the State to improve prison conditions and to increase the use of community sanctions as an alternative to imprisonment.
However, it criticised the lack of progress in eliminating “adverse conditions” in a number of prisons including overcrowding, lack of in-cell sanitation facilities and lack of segregation of remand and convicted prisoners.
In reaction to this, Malone of the IPRT said: “Over 300 prisoners are still slopping out in Ireland today, many in crowded cells, where they also eat their meals. It is inhumane and degrading, and it must end.”
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OMG not Sinead O Connor again.
@James Smart: I met her before. She’s actually really sound
@James Smart: i saw her live recently.incredible to say the least.it really does look like she’s left all the madness behind her.
@James Smart: a one hit wack job who must have incriminating pictures of tubridy the amount of times she gets brought out in whatever religious garb is flavour of the week that week to caterwaul over some cover of hit
@Patrick Daly: one hit wonder? She’s one of the most popular Irish artists in the online charts.
@Stan Kowalskis: Seriously!
@Patrick Daly: clueless. She is one of the greatest artists ever to come out of this country. Brilliant singer, songwriter and a good person, who unfortunately has had to battle her demons in public. A national treasure.
@Patrick Daly: you haven’t got a glue, boy.
Waste of time and Money.
Sweet suffering lamb of Jesus.
Higgins is somewhat bearable in small doses, the other two give me industrial strength IRE.
@Fred the Muss…:
He is not bearable no matter how low the dose. What is IRE?
@Pat Coyne: IRE is a rash you get when the inside of your thighs rub together.
Saoirse Ronan and her made up accent is the reason my television won’t see RTÉ 1 tonight.
Thank god I have Sky.
I’ve boycotted RTE for so many years – I can’t remember why.
@Pat Coyne: but they still expect you to pay a tv licence even though the technology is available for all or part of its dreadful out to be a subscription channel
What will Sinead turn up as this time
- a Bishop
- an Imam
- a Hindu
- a singer
God knows Tubs must be really desperate if she is on AGAIN.
Mother god its worse it getting
All on before boring boring boring
Watched about 5 minutes of it. Once again, boring the nation to death talking about Covid 19. If the virus could be talked to death, the Late, Late would win an Oscar.
Three nasty yokes!
Jesus what an awful awful lineup
Two chumps laughing at the normies
President Higgins was excellent. The banks must come to the plate. Also Sinéad, can’t really bear her, but her song was exceptional. Frontliners excellent also.
Thanks for warning me
Couldn’t wait for Tubridy to talk to me like I was 5
Jon Jonson?
All white people on the Late Late. Great show but we need to celebrate the new Irish and migrant workers who do fantastic work too and usually on low pay.
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