The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice has made a submission to the Working Group for the Strategic Review of Penal Policy. The group was announced by Minister for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter in September 2012. Members of the review group includes Mr Michael Donnellan, Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Mr Jack Nolan, Assistant Commissioner of An Garda Síochána and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan. The group has been established to examine and analyse all aspects of penal policy including crime prevention, sentencing policies, alternatives to custody, accommodation and regimes, support for reintegration and rehabilitation and the issue of female prisoners. The Centre, which is a leading advocate in prison reform, has made a submission outlining a number of key recommendations.

These include:

That the core purpose of prison should be rehabilitative rather than punitive.
That the basic human rights of the prisoner must be upheld, and their fundamental dignity as human beings should be respected.
That imprisonment should be minimal, and non-violent criminals should instead be given alternative, non custodial sentences.