New in Research: Reintegration of Prisoners in Ireland

In May, IPRT will publish a new report, focusing on the reintegration of prisoners in Ireland. The research study has been carried out over the past 6 months and engaged with a wide range of consultees including service providers as well as former prisoners. The report discusses the situation in Ireland in the context of increasing prisoner numbers and recent cuts in financial resources available to statutory and non-statutory bodies charged with providing assistance to prisoners in preparation for release. The report will highlight the positive changes that have taken place in recent years in this area, as well as making a number of recommendations for further improvement. Full details about the launch will follow next week.

For more information on the report, contact Agnieszka Martynowicz, IPRT Research & Policy Officer, at: research@iprt.ie

For more information about the launch, please contact Mary Gaffney, IPRT Office Manager, at: info@iprt.ie

Still waiting…

Reports today say that Saville’s Bloody Sunday Inquiry Report has now been passed to lawyers from MI5, the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Defence. The lawyers will review the contents of the 5,000 page document, a process likely to take at least two weeks to see whether any of the material in it could endanger life or ‘threaten national security’. Representatives of the families have argued that the report should be published as soon as possible and that no part of the report should be redacted: http://setthetruthfree.org/about-set-the-truth-free/

Earlier this month, the incoming Northern Ireland Justice Minister – the Alliance Party’s David Ford, caused controversy when he suggested that Saville’s Inquiry was ‘pointless’: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/04/bloody-sunday-inquiry-northern-ireland

Dan Keenan’s piece in today’s Irish Times which contains interviews with families of the killed and injured provides a vivid account of how the their campaign to ‘set the truth free’ has not been diminished over time.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0325/1224267012262.html

Bloody Sunday Report Finally Completed

It took 12 years and cost £200 million but the report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry chaired by Lord Saville  has finally been completed.  However the date for publication has not yet been announced – media reports suggest that the report will not be published until after the British General election, highlighting the continued potential political impact of an  event that has been described as a watershed in the history of the Troubles.

On 30 January 1972 – 13 people were killed by British soldiers at a peaceful protest against internment in Derry and a further 13 people were wounded (one of whom subsequently died of his injuries). A previous report by Lord Widgery conducted in the aftermath of the event was subject to huge critique and was characterised as a ‘whitewash’ on the basis of its investigations and overall conclusions – for example Widgery did not include any testimony from the injured who were still in hospital.

Even before Saville’s report has been published criticisms have been aired – not least concerning the time it has taken to complete the Inquiry and the costs incurred.  Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC, who represented the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association at the inquiry has criticised the overall approach adopted by Saville – arguing given the time lapse a  forensic examination of events is unlikely to yield much new information. Blom-Cooper has argued that Saville should have adopted a more global approach – taking the overall context into account, for example questioning why British troops were present in Derry in the first instance. When the  5,000 pages are published all of these debates are likely to resurface.

http://www.bloody-sunday-inquiry.org.uk/

Erwin James on conditions in Mountjoy

Erwin James writes in the Guardian about a recent visit to Mountjoy prison. He describes the primitive conditions – 160 years after the prison was built there is still no in-cell sanitation, and slopping-out, a practice criticised by numerous oversight bodies still persists. See for example: http://www.irishleftreview.org/2009/09/24/damning-inspector-prisons-mountjoy-prison-report-act-watershed/

James’ account  can be accessed here – http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/mar/21/prisoners-forced-slop-out