Ms Michelle Martyn:

In 2012, the Irish Penal Reform Trust issued a report, “Picking up the Pieces”: The Rights and Needs of Children and Families Affected by Imprisonment. Subsequently, children affected by imprisonment were identified in the national policy framework for children and young people as having specific needs and a commitment was made to them. Approximately, 6,000 children are currently affected by parental imprisonment and 17,000 are affected every year. That is a large number of children.

Since our report, the Irish Prison Service has set up a family imprisonment group and looked to improve prison visiting conditions for children and families. As Deputy Clare Daly said, children and families are key to rehabilitation. From the beginning of a sentence, children and families should be involved and relationships should be maintained through sentence management and after release. The children in question are more likely to have mental health problems or end up in the criminal justice system themselves.

From our interviews with young people affected, we learned they cannot hear their parents in prison. Accordingly, they like the special visits because they can hug the parent. Another issue is inconsistency in the conditions across the prison estate. The last report from the Dóchas Centre visiting committee recommended financial support should be given to families visiting because female prisoners tend to come from further away as there are only two female prisons, namely, the Dóchas Centre in Dublin and the female wing in Limerick Prison.

Apart from the Bedford Row Family Project in Limerick, there are no other support agencies for families of prisoners across the country. Savings can be made for the State if supports are provided. In the UK, the Prison Advice and Care Trust, PACT, has shown a social return on investment of £11.40 for every £1 of public money spent on family supports for prisoners. The Scottish Government invested £1.8 million over three years providing proper visitor centres to ensure children will attend them. Children and families are the most important factor in rehabilitating a person, particularly for long-term and life-sentence prisoners.