Prison Education Taskforce established
A new taskforce, which is being co-chaired between the Department of Justice and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, is aiming to build on over 100 prisoners undertaking university courses.
Aimed at ensuring that prisoners are able to avail of opportunities to gain access to education and training courses, the Prison Education Taskforce aims to ensure that prisoners are better able to rehabilitate and gain access to employment upon release.
In 2022, 11 prisoners completed their Junior Certs and 64 completed Leaving Cert examinations. Additionally, around 1,400 prisoners achieved QQI certificates, a figure which includes 105 undertaking university course and five studying at postgraduate level.
The taskforce is comprised of representatives from the Department of Justice, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, the Irish Prison Service, SOLAS (the state agency which oversees the further education and training sector), the National Apprenticeship Office, Education and Training Boards Ireland, the Probation Service, and former prisoners.
Then-Minister for Justice, Simon Harris TD, oversaw the first meeting of the Prison Education Taskforce.
Speaking in the aftermath of the first Taskforce meeting, which took place on 31 May 2023 at Mountjoy Prison, then-Minister for Justice Simon Harris TD said:
“This taskforce has the potential to significantly improve labour market readiness for persons in custody on release by realising the potential for greater alignment across the prison education and training services and tertiary provision.
“This is all about ensuring persons in custody can access education and training opportunities, and hopefully access employment, or indeed further or higher education, on release.”
Minister of State for Law Reform James Browne TD, who co-chaired the meeting alongside Harris, said:
“People who are given access to education and employment opportunities are more likely to go on to build crime free lives. The Taskforce that Minister Harris and I have led today will help ensure that we can continue to give people in custody the best opportunity to maximise their skills and their employment prospects post-release.
“The introduction of this taskforce was an objective identified in Justice Plan 2023 and I am very pleased to see it realised in such a swift manner.”
The Prison Education Taskforce will also develop targets and monitor the proportion of the prison population receiving education. The Department of Justice states that an outline of agreed actions and the next work programme will be brought to government by both departments “by the end of the year”.
