The government must not repeat the same failed approach to the expansion of the prison system by treating rehabilitation as an afterthought, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a record number of people in prisons and sleeping on floors, it\u2019s clear that our prison system is under intolerable pressure. But simply accelerating the construction of more cells is not the solution, especially if those spaces are just more places for people to fall through the cracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, additional capacity is needed. But how we expand our prison system matters. For too long, prisons in Ireland have left those struggling with addiction, trauma, mental ill-health, and poverty, with little to no support to help them rebuild their lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we treat imprisonment as a dead-end rather than a turning point, we trap people in a cycle of reoffending. That cycle comes at an enormous cost – to victims of crime, to communities, and to the prisoners themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this government is serious about reducing crime and supporting safer communities, it must ensure that these new prison spaces are not just more beds and bars \u2013 but places where people can access education, mental health care, addiction services, and meaningful rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a smarter, more compassionate, and evidence-based approach. Otherwise, we\u2019re not building a justice system \u2013 we\u2019re just expanding the same broken cycle, brick by brick.\u201d<\/p>\n
June 4, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government must not repeat the same failed approach to the expansion of the prison system by treating rehabilitation as an afterthought, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on justice, said: \u201cWith a record number of people in prisons and sleeping on floors, it\u2019s clear that our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,316,411,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-gary-gannon","category-justice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n