IRELAND'S CATHOLIC bishops have called for an inquiry into "alternatives to imprisonment" for criminals.
Research had shown that building more prisons and handing down longer sentences does little to deter or prevent crime, the bishops said.
Research had also shown that the vast majority of people were keen to find ways forward to deal more positively with criminal offending, they added, saying the root causes of crime needed to be addressed by society at large.
The bishops were commenting on the prison chaplains' report for 2006-2007.
Welcoming the report, the bishops said they were "concerned that we continue to incarcerate more people for longer periods of time in what the chaplains describe as one of 'the most non-rehabilitative environments and regimes that one could imagine'."
The bishops added: "Homelessness among ex-prisoners is a well-documented fact.
"Many enter prison as a result of homelessness and many become homeless as a result of imprisonment.
"We are prepared to spend vast sums of public money in imprisoning people and, as many ex-prisoners will tell you, there is nothing for them on the day of release.
"They are given the see-through plastic bag with all their worldly possessions to face the hostile world of homelessness, unemployment, addictions and sometimes violence and even death.
"Is it any wonder we have such a high rate of recidivism," they asked rhetorically?
"The call of the chaplains for sentence management leading to reintegration needs to be heard and acted upon.
"The effects of imprisonment are multi-faceted. The families of prisoners - the invisible victims - are seldom recognised.
"That our criminal justice system continues to incarcerate the marginalised, those with intellectual disabilities, those on low incomes and, at times, even children, these are issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency," they said.
At the heart of the prison chaplains' report is their belief "that the current criminal justice system is failing. "It is failing," the bishops added, "failing the victims of crime, the offender and indeed society at large. A model of restorative justice needs to be further explored and implemented.
"Surely the time has come to look at alternatives to imprisonment?"
The bishops also welcomed the establishment of the Irish Youth Justice System.