JCFJ give evidence to Oireachtas Joint Committee

On Wednesday last, the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice (JCFJ) gave evidence to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice in relation to a planning motion for the new prison at Thornton Hall. JCFJ Director, Fr Tony O’Riordan told members of the Committee of TDs and Senators, that the new prison, with a design capacity of 2,220 prisoners, was a means of imprisoning many more people -increasing prison capacity by almost 150%- rather than replacing existing buildings. He noted the implications for penal policy as a whole: “It reinforces our inability to use imprisonment as a measure of last resort, and potentially limits both the commitment to developing alternatives to prison and, indeed, the resources available for such alternatives.”