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HOMELESSNESS IS THE grim prospect awaiting some inmates after they have served their time in Ireland’s largest women’s prison.
The Prison Visiting Committee’s Report for 2015, published yesterday, has highlighted an ongoing concern for what happens to prisoners once they are released back into society.
The report for the Dóchas centre, the women’s facility housed on the grounds of Mountjoy prison in Dublin, flags a number of problems that remain since the committee’s last visit. These include overcrowding (120 prisoners in a facility equipped for 105), drug use and the jailing of mothers with young infants.
The fate of these women post-release is also troubling. The report draws attention to:
the lack of protected/sheltered accommodation for some women on release from the Centre, homelessness, the lack of a ‘one-stop’ shop providing information on supports and services and the absence of a streamlined delivery of these supports when they leave the Centre, and the difficulty in accessing addiction or counselling services on release.
New policy to tackle homelessness
This, the report continues, is “not an exhaustive list” and in their summary of all prisons, reveals that a new pre-release planning policy is being worked up for the Irish Prison Service and should be published shortly.
The idea is to tackle the homelessness risk to newly-released prisoners and improve conditions that may increase the risk of recidivism.
Another initiative noted in the report is a pilot programme of “positive family support interventions” including a parenting programme being run in Limerick Prison with a view to rolling this out to other prisons in 2016 and 2017.
The full report, which can be viewed here, praises improvements in several prisons including the completion of the “modern, bright and spacious” new Cork Prison, and high level of training and education available in Loughan House.
However, the “seriously under-staffed” medical services available in Midlands Prison are of huge concern as is the mental health of prisoners in the crowded environment of Mountjoy.
Drug abuse in Wheatfield Prison was singled out:
Drug-free landings are on offer to prisoners who wish to avail, but drugs still end up on these landings… Under no circumstances should prisoners that have not been cleared for these landings end up here.
And Cloverhill had a number of issues highlighted, including the complete lack of a psychologist in the prison – “an urgent need” – as well as shortages in night nursing cover, in the Education Unit, and serious assaults happening in the yard of the prison.
This last complaint was attributed in part to staff using so-called ‘yard hubs’ in which to shelter. However, these have had the effect of reducing staff visibility. The result, says the report, is that “serious assaults have occurred, and with the lack of officer presence in the yards this will continue to happen”.
There is also a sad reflection of serious crime in the outside world in this description of the “substantial increase” in prisoners looking for protection once they enter the prison:
The alarming growth of protection is a consequential reflection of the gang culture in society. As we highlighted previously external gang feud affiliations do not stop at the gate of the prison when people are committed to prison.
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Oh yeah sure heaven forbid these people take responsibility for themselves. Do gooder s aslemble!!!
It’s nothing to do with taking responsibility it’s to do with reintegration to prevent them reoffending.
It’s a bit much that if we payed for someone to get clean while locked up to put them into a hostel that’s riddled with smackheads and temptation the minute there released they don’t stand a chance of staying clean
Peter perhaps if you spent some time incarcerated you might not have such dismissive attitude
It’s as if they don’t have free will, Peter.
God there’s no end to these cases where the taxpayer is expected to finance free housing – while decent hardworking couples cannot afford a home.
Couldn’t agree more !
Why are they in prison in the first place? Because they’re from the ‘social’ class that don’t work, they take from society,
never have the ambition to support themselves.
Why would it be different when they get out of prison ? Getting released from prison & not having somewhere to go is not the issue, it’s the lifestyle they choose that is in the first place that is !
A lot of blame directed toward staff…thats wrong..most prison staff get along fine with most prisoners and will and do help prisoners with advice etc…we saw that on the Dochas series on RTE recently.
Was there a plan for their victims?
that really depends on the nature of the offence
The hubs were installed so one officer could supervise a hundred prisoners in other words to save money but they make it sound like its the officers fault.
I’ve a plan don’t release them
Jeez one would think these “poor vulnerable ” prisoners were an endangered species on reading that….there are many thousands of law abiding and contributing citizens in this state who have nobody lobbying and advocating for THEIR rights….many of these offending criminals are recidivists including the lady on the journal recently with 234 convictions!!!!
there are thousands of organisations representing or advocating for law abiding people’s rights
If their families don’t want them why should society pay?
What’s your solution to prevent reoffence? Society pays if they keep going back to prison.
you might not be fully appreciating the societal benefits of rehabilitation
A better plan for released prisoners would probably be to lock them back up again straight away. Save some time and petrol.
Lock them up in privately run prisons in eastern europe, no suspensions.
I have heard it all now (Prisoners can avail of a drugs free landing) shouldn’t all the landings be drug free?
Sure these women need there heroine in the morning watching Jeremy Kyle and there Extasy in the evening watching there soaps.
And then there is the men’s side of the prison I know of lads that went to prison not a pick on them they spend all day in the gym eating steroids like there where smarties come out looking like they went to a body building camp for a few years.
And then there is the use of computers in the evening you know these animals can still use Facebook in prison to keep in touch with the out side it helps with there behaviour been able to socialise with family and friend it’s monitored but still it’s prison.
And then they have game consoles is it right that they can play grand theft auto while been looked up for robbing cars and assaulting people and murder great way to rehabilitate prisoners.
Ireland’s prisons are to soft on these animals I have a pain in my face listening to how hard it is and the conditions in side for them are really.
have you spent time inside? watching it on the box in your sitting room does’t count by the way.
You need an aftercare system or you’re just setting them up for a fall. We used to design and impliment them for young offenders until cutbacks. Insane approach when you consider how expensive it is to fight recidivism through incarceration.
A free house, smartphone and car should be the minimum provided upon release!
A 3 strikes system might be a quick form of education for them a great comfort for their victims. Bleeding hearts never seem to out out a message to the criminals that they will face over crowding and a lack of “drug free landings” ( that still has me shaking my head in disbelief) and homeless when you get out so stop robbing old people. What a joke our society is becoming.
To the headline… “Why???”
It’s wonderful to read all the well meaning comments following the Article on the Visiting Committee report into conditions at the prisons. The visiting committee is a government appointed group. They are at best well meaning and fullfill a role within the system. A lot of these criminals are very comfortable with the fact that they are coming straight back to Jail. They can’t survive outside they have 90% of their needs provided for in prison. It’s their way of life. I have no issue with the best medical care been given to all inmates. Why not?. It’s very important to remember that the living conditions of use the Inmate is the workplace of the officer. The thing that gets to me is hearing the Minister and the Garda Commissioner talking about getting these visious drug lords and killers off the streets and into jail, as they strip resources from the prison system daily weekly monthly and yearly. You never hear the Minister mention the prison service or should I say Staff when she refers to getting these people off the street. She and her officials are quite prepared to remove all digitnaty and morale from the dedicated staff serving the country and it’s people’s. One won’t see a civilian in charge of the Irish Army or the Garda. Different rule for the prison.
Well said john
They should run education programmes inside, even the best intending excons find it v hard to reintegrate. Think it’s better that prisons are overcrowded and reduced sentencing for serious offenders is the knock on and low level convicts are stuck in crime cycle? Seems stupid that society expects them to just get on fine after being out. Prison time should be geared towards not getting people to reoffend. Turn those prison costs into tax paying citizens. Not sure why people want to write cons off so quickly at their own expense.
Don’t get me wrong, everyone hates a criminal, but giving them nothing but jail and spite costs society a lot more in the long run
I agree garb…and they DO run education programmes inside but there is no compulsion to attend and many of the cons gave up school in 4th class….and i know their parenting or lack thereof is to blame but the system currently allows years of offending before incarceration and we all know that at 14-15 years of age behaviours/attitudes are pretty much solidified.
Ruth, How is it possible to choose another lifestyle if you’re homeless and can’t get a job due to incarceration?. Nobody has any input into the class they’re born into. Also having an affective aftercare programme for prisoners would reduce the risk of reoffending which would save us a lot of money as we wouldn’t have to lock up as many people!
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