7 May 2004

PRESS RELEASE

Prisoner tagging no substitute for fundamental penal reforms

The Green Party has stated that the introduction of prisoner tagging must not be seen as a substitute for fundamental reforms of the Irish Prison system. The Green Party believes that tagging is not a viable replacement for human contact with probation officers, and has called on Michael McDowell, the Minister for Justice, to acknowledge that there is a crisis in our prison system.

Green Party Justice spokesperson, Ciarán Cuffe TD, said today that, "Prison Visiting Committees have not even been given the resources to make more than one visit to certain institutions. This in itself is a damming indictment of the penal system."

"There is no drug treatment programme in Portlaoise Prison yet 80% of the inmates are there due to drug-related crimes. According to the Visiting Committee, women released from the Dochas Centre at Mountjoy have re-offended in order to be readmitted."

"Instead of giving ultimatums to the Irish Prison Service Michael McDowell should work with them to reform the system. Issues such as high amounts of overtime must be addressed, but resources are also needed make our penal system more humane, and bring it from the 19th into the 21st century," concluded Deputy Cuffe.