Statement: Senator Bacik Hosts Oireachtas Briefing on 'Life After Prison'

SENATOR BACIK HOSTS OIREACHTAS BRIEFING ON 'LIFE AFTER PRISON'
Senator Ivana Bacik

Labour Party Seanad Spokesperson on Justice

Senator Ivana Bacik today hosted a briefing seminar for TDs and Senators on ‘life after prison'. Facilitated by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, the meeting was held at 11.30am in Leinster House. Speakers were Tina Roche and Lisa Cuthbert.

Tina Roche was appointed Chief Executive of The Foundation for Investing in Communities in January 2000 and established two organisations Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI). She was involved in the NESF Project Team on the Reintegration of Prisoners, which led the NESF report on the topic in 2002. She addressed the seminar on the issue of re-integration of prisoners in the workplace.

Lisa Cuthbert has been Director of PACE for the past ten years and has worked with offenders and within the homeless sector for twenty years. PACE is the largest voluntary organisation in Ireland working exclusively with offenders and ex-offenders. She spoke about the practical issues facing those coping with life after prison and the measures which can be taken to ease the transition between prison and release.

Speaking at the seminar, Senator Bacik said:

“This seminar is the latest in a series of briefings for TDs and Senators on prisons and penal reform that I have hosted in conjunction with the Irish Penal Reform Trust. There is immense interest in the issue of penal reform among members of the Oireachtas, and I am now proposing to establish an All-Party Working Group on Penal Reform in order to formalise the important connections that have been made during our series of briefing seminars. We hope to place prison conditions and penal reform higher up the political agenda, and to initiate a series of reforms to our penal system.”

ENDS