Prison service to open ‘prison-themed’ café staffed by ex-prisoners

The café is set to be opened in Dublin city centre as part of the Department of Justice’s social enterprise policy.

The IPS will not directly operate the café, but has offered premises and “suitable memorabilia” to an independent operator.

A spokesperson for the IPS said: “The core aim of the Prison Service is to rehabilitate people and to turn them away from the factors that would have led them to offending in the first place. One of the primary reasons someone would not want to reoffend is employment.

“We’re trying to work with people and to give them a chance to show they can turn their back on their previous behaviour and work for themselves to give themselves a better life. So they can embrace what they have learned in prison and have a better life outside.”