Prisons

76-90 of 258 Articles
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The Irish Prison Service (IPS) will be placed on a full statutory footing with a non-executive board and other structures aligning with best practice under new government plans. The IPS is currently a non-statutory agency of the Department of Justice. It has approximately 3,500 staff and an annual b

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Individuals released in 2019 from custodial sentences lasting between three and six months had the highest likelihood of re-offending within a year, new statistics show. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has welcomed the latest publication by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of a statistical release

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Human rights lawyer Mark Kelly has been appointed as Ireland's new inspector of prisons. Mr Kelly will replace Mark Toland, who has been fulfilling the role on an interim basis since the dramatic resignation of Patricia Gilheaney in February.

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Inmates at Cork Prison gained experience of working in a live restaurant environment after an intensive eight-week culinary skills course ended with a pop-up restaurant event yesterday. The pilot programme was co-managed by the Irish Prison Service, the Department of Tourism and Hospitality and the

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The Irish Prison Service has announced plans to lift a number of Covid-related restrictions from Monday. Infection control screens will be removed from physical visiting booths and physical contact between prisoners and visitors will be permitted in line with Prison Rules.

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A newly-opened equine centre at Castlerea Prison will allow prisoners to develop skills in horse husbandry for employment in the equine industry after their release. The "Horses of Hope" centre, the result of an innovative partnership between the Irish Prison Service and the horse racing industry, w

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Penal experts have given a cautious welcome to new European figures showing Ireland has a relatively low prison population rate compared to other European countries. The Council of Europe's annual penal statistics, known as SPACE I, show that Ireland had a prison population rate of 74.4 per 100,000

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Mark Toland, the chief inspector of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, has been appointed as the inspector of prisons on an interim basis. Mr Toland will temporarily fill the vacancy arising from the sudden resignation of Patricia Gilheaney as inspector with effect from last week.

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The Northern Ireland Prison Service has set out its plans to remove most restrictions introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including the reintroduction of in-person contact visits. The six-week "road to recovery" plan sets out what the prison service aims to have in place by Monday 4 Apr

76-90 of 258 Articles