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IPRT welcomes community-service pledge

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has welcomed a pledge by the Minister for Justice to examine alternatives to custodial sentences to help manage the overcrowding crisis in prisons. 

Minister Jim O’Callaghan was speaking at the Prison Officer Association’s (POA) annual conference yesterday (1 May). 

IPRT said that it echoed the concerns of the POA about record prison overcrowding and the need for urgent Government action to tackle the overcrowding crisis. 

Amendments 

In his speech, the minister announced proposals for the introduction of a range of measures under the Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025. 

These would include amendments to the Community Service Act 1983 “to encourage greater use of community-service orders for those deemed appropriate,” according to the minister. 

IPRT welcomed the bill’s proposal that a judge could order community service instead of a custodial sentence up to 24 months. 

The organisation particularly welcomed the introduction of an obligation on judges to give reasons for a decision to choose a custodial sentence over imposing a community-safety order in eligible cases. 

Building concerns  

Saoirse Brady (executive director, IPRT) welcomed what she called the minister’s “important acknowledgment” that alternatives to custodial sentences were under-used by Irish courts compared with other jurisdictions. 

She warned, however, that the trust still had concerns about the announcement of increased prison capacity and more prison spaces. 

“While we accept there is a clear need to modernise the prison estate, IPRT reiterates our position that no system has ever built its way out of an overcrowding crisis,” Brady stated. 

IPRT also urged “caution” about a proposal from the minister to amend legislation to allow prison officers to use pepper spray in incidents where safety was at risk, saying that this would not adequately address safety concerns driven by prison overcrowding.