Social enterprise strategy marks departure for Department of Justice

Ireland’s new social enterprise strategy for the justice sector is “a new departure” for the Department of Justice, David Stanton has said.

The minister spoke at the launch of the Jobs and Opportunities Expo in Mountjoy Prison this morning, one week after the publication of the Joint Strategy for Development of Social Enterprise in the Irish Criminal Justice Sector.

He said: “This strategy is a new departure for the Department and for the Irish Prison Service and the Probation Service and it recognises both the potential that exists to create work integration opportunities for ex-offenders in the social enterprise sector, but also the formidable challenges that need to be addressed in order to secure employment for people with criminal convictions.

“It is clearly in all of our interests that we reduce crime levels and reduce recidivism, making our communities safer for everybody and reducing the heavy cost of crime on our society.”

The aim of the ‘social enterprise’ model is to prepare prisoners for the work environment while in prison and to facilitate them in gaining employment upon release.

Fíona Ní Chinnéide, acting executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), has welcomed the new strategy.

She said: “New strategies to improve resettlement of prisoners through providing employment opportunities are very positive. These must be met with adequate out-of-cell time for prisoners to access to training and education, and stronger spent convictions legislation.

“Commitments to support resettlement should also extend to open prison provision. Open prisons are cheaper to run, minimise the harmful effects of custody, and support resettlement on release from prison. In this regard, the recent closure of the Training Unit – the only semi-open prison facility in the Dublin area – is extremely disappointing, and appears to contradict all policy recommendations to increase open prison provision in Ireland.”