On Prisoner Sunday (12th November), Eoin Carroll, Deputy Director of the JCFJ, delivered a homily at St Francis Xavier Church, Dublin, based on the parable of the ten virgins which emphasises the need for preparation in order to be able to make good decisions.  

The UN Committee Against Torture has published its concluding observations from the second periodic review of Ireland, which took place in July. The examination, by ten independent human rights experts, was to assess Ireland’s adherence to the United Nations ‘Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’.

The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) will examine Ireland this week about its progress and compliance with the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). The second periodic review under the convention will take place this Thursday 27 and Friday 28 July, at United Nations headquarters in Geneva,… Read more »

Irish prisoners are locked up for on average seventeen hours a day, and this routine has not changed in thirty years. So said Eoin Carroll, Advocacy and Social Policy Research Officer in the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice.

The latest report from the Central Statistics Office shows that half of young adults in prison re-offend within three years upon release. Clearly, a different approach is needed. Community programmes allow those who have caused harm to ‘pay back’ for the hurt caused, to make reparation.

The Centre has called on the Government to end ‘severe confinement’ for young adults in prison. Out of fear for their own safety, 100+ young adults (aged 18–24) are spending up to 23 hours a day in their cell. Our latest report, Developing Inside: Transforming Prison for Young Adults recommends that Youth Justice, under the Department of… Read more »