It is the role of the Irish Prison Service to help achieve a safer and fairer Ireland by:

• Providing safe and secure custody with dignity of care for people committed to prison.
• Reducing the risk of harm to the public and the likelihood of reoffending by providing rehabilitation for people in prison.
• Working with the Probation Service to create an integrated offender management programme.
• Assisting people in prison maintain family relations and contact with the wider community.

The Irish Prison Service is responsible for the safe and secure custody of persons held on remand, on immigration matters and people sentenced to prison. 

It is responsible for ensuring that convicted persons properly serve their sentence. The Irish Prison Service is also responsible for providing the opportunities for prisoners to engage in a meaningful way in order to reduce the likelihood of their reoffending and assist them reintegrate into their communities.

The Irish Prison Service Annual Reports and Strategic Plans are available to view through the Publications section on their website.

To learn more about their work, check the Irish Prison Service website.

Rules setting out how prisons will operate, which cover all aspects of prison life, such as visiting rights, facilities, work, discipline, grievance procedures and so on, can be found here.

Independent Prison Monitoring
 

Independent Prison Monitoring is an essential part of accountability for any modern prison system.

The European Prison Rules stipulate that the conditions of detention and treatment of prisoners are monitored by an independent body or bodies whose findings are made public.

A number of bodies listed below carry out this function in Ireland:

 

1. The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

   The CPT can be contacted by post, telephone, fax or e-mail:

    

   Address:	Secretariat of the CPT,
   	Human Rights Building,
   	Council of Europe,
   	F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex,
   	FRANCE
   Phone:	+33 3 88 41 23 36
   Fax:	+33 3 88 41 27 72
   E-mail:	cptdoc@coe.int

   
    

2. The Criminal Justice (United Nations (Convention Against Torture) Act, 2000

3. Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

4. Inspector of Prisons

5. Prison Visiting Committees

   Prison Visiting Committees are made up of individuals from across society.

   They visit the prison to which they are appointed and hear any complaints made to them by a prisoner. They look at the quality of the prison accommodation and the facilities and services available to the prisoners there.

   Each committee gives the Minister a report every year on their findings. These are published on the Department’s website and the reports can be accessed here.

   Each appointment to a visiting committee is for a period of three years. To be appointed to a prison visiting committee you should make a representation to either the Minister for Justice or your local representative who may in turn nominate you for appointment.

 

Prison Committee Members

Arbour Hill Prison	Padraig McGarrigle  Rita Hayes
Castlerea Prison	John Keavney Martin Leonard Pauline McDonagh Thomas Garvey Martin Daly
Cloverhill Prison	Margaret  Downey Fintan Hudson David Ruddy Laura Jenkins Mary O'Neill Nuala Ryan
Cork Prison	Robin Murray Anthony Donnelly Dermot O'Connell Jeremiah Sullivan Diarmuid Drennan Tomas Ryan
Arbour Hill Prison	Padraig McGarrigle  Rita Hayes
Dóchas Centre	Noel Cloak Christine Ryan Anne Delaney
Limerick Prison	Pat Conway Val Rooney Patrick Reidy Mary Prendergast John Higgins Patricia McCarthy
Loughan House Open Centre	Michael Smith Andrew Cullen Thomas J. Prendergast
Midlands Prison	Ted Laffey Margaret O'Dwyer John Kelly Joe Leahy Derek Mulcahy
Mountjoy Prison	Phelim McGee Mary Fennessy Pauline Conroy Joseph Ahern Andrew Garvey
Portlaoise Prison	Michael Hough Anne Turley Declan Brennan Martin Moroney
Shelton Abbey Open Centre	Marie O'Rourke Thomas Healy Thomas Gregan Anthony Lawlor Richard P. Codd
St. Patrick's Institution	Pat Burke Walsh
Training Unit Place of Detention	Anne Confrey Patrick J. Holton Billy Ireland
Wheatfield Place of Detention	Joe Fitzsimons Kathleen Gill Stewart Stephens Brenda Coyne

 

Committee members are not paid a fee but receive expenses of €142.50 per day per prison visited and vouched travel expenses of up to €30.