The controversy over Catherine Connolly’s decision to employ a woman with a criminal conviction who had served a jail sentence has reignited the debate over what the justice system is for, if not rehabilitation.
Years ago, my husband and I came home to a ransacked flat. Every conceivable hiding place for cash was ripped open, from books toppled from shelves to birthday cards torn out of envelopes. The sense of violation was enormous. Gardaí suggested it was probably someone looking for money for drugs.
After marinating in vengeful thoughts, we eventually realised that what we would most like is to feel safe and for this not to happen to others. To accomplish that, the thief would need addiction services.
If the person had past convictions, you would hope that stigma would not prevent them from getting a job. Employment would lessen the chances of going back to addiction and robbery.
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After a long period of exemplary behaviour, they should not be constantly worrying about their previous convictions resurfacing or their children feeling shame.
Turns out many people agree. Polling carried out by Red C for the Irish Penal Reform Trust in November 2024 showed that if offered a budget of €10 million to help with the problem of crime, predictably, many people would invest it in having more of a Garda presence (41 per cent.)
Perhaps more surprisingly, 21 per cent would invest it in drug addiction services and 10 per cent in youth intervention services. Additional prison spaces ranked lowest at 7 per cent.
There was also support for alternatives to prison, with 71 per cent preferring a dedicated treatment facility for those with mental health problems and 68 per cent for those with drug addiction.
And yet Budget 2026 allocates €67.9 million in capital expenditure towards 73 new prison spaces in 2026, with the aim of approximately 1,195 additional spaces by 2031. Thornton Campus was mentioned as a new prison.
But why are we building a new prison? The priorities should surely be diverting people from crime in the first place, an increase in community-based sanctions and strengthening supports to lower the numbers who reoffend.
There are very few rich people in prison. Nearly 12 per cent of all those in prison in 2024 were homeless. Three out of four were unemployed. The average age leaving school was 14.6 years and 70 per cent are suffering from addiction.
Mental health problems are rampant. As of July 2024, 609 people were currently receiving care, with almost 2,000 people on a waiting list for a prison psychologist. This places heavy burdens on prison staff who are not trained to meet complex needs.
Prison is expensive. The average cost of a fully staffed prison space in 2024 was €99,072. Imagine if that were spent on education, youth services, addiction recovery and alternatives to prison.
Last Wednesday, there were 5,547 people in prisons with a maximum bed capacity of 4,675, often sharing a cell the size of a car parking space designed for single occupancy. Almost 500 people were sleeping on mattresses on the ground. That means sleeping with your head near a non-partitioned toilet. Many are serving short sentences. A new prison is not the answer.
However, there are positive changes. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is introducing a law requiring courts to provide reasons if they do not apply community service in cases with prison terms of two years or less. Currently, judges only have to consider it, and the limit is one year.
There is a successful and innovative Bail Support Scheme that offers courts an alternative to remanding a young person to detention by granting bail with intensive supervision supports. A multi-systemic therapeutic team work with the young people and their primary caregivers in the home.
A case study provided by the Dept of Justice of 15-year old “John” shows how it works: John was volatile and aggressive, not attending school, and facing multiple charges. After leaving the service, he is doing well in school, off drugs, and no longer hanging out with the people who originally involved him in criminal behaviour.
Overall, the scheme shows a 72 per cent reduction in reoffending. It is being extended to women prisoners. Budget 2026 will support this, along with an additional €6.7 million for the Probation Service, which will help create community-based alternatives.
Serving time in prison should not be the start of a longer sentence of stigma, shame and reduced opportunities after custody. Sadly, it often is. People find it hard to access work. If they attempt to set up their own business, they struggle to get insurance.
Open Doors Initiative has produced a toolkit for employers to answer practical questions about the process of employing people with convictions. The Mr Price chain is one example where it has worked very successfully.
Then there is the question of media reporting. Journalists need to consider when it serves a purpose to highlight a person’s previous convictions from years before. In the absence of evidence of any intent to reoffend, is there truly a public interest?
[ Connolly says she spoke to prison visiting committee before hiring Éirigí memberOpens in new window ]
