Very little information exists on the needs and lived experiences of minority ethnic and foreign national prisoners in prisons and on probation in Ireland. This report aimed to bridge that gap and consider these needs and experiences within the context of relevant policy and law. The report was commissioned by IPRT from the Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology. The need for reform is outlined in 18 recommendations made in the report.

Findings from the research include: 

• Based on an analysis of the quantitative data provided by the Irish Prison Service (IPS), it was found that foreign nationals may receive longer sentences than Irish nationals for controlled drug offences and sexual offences.
• Further analysis, along with interviews from professional stakeholders, established that the IPS data – while including statistics on prisoners’ nationality – was deficient in the areas of ethnicity and religion of the prison population.
• Interview data revealed that there were significant challenges faced by foreign nationals and minority ethnic people in prison concerning access to services, respect for different religious backgrounds, as well as language and communication barriers.
• Experiences of racism at different stages of the criminal justice process had the effect of limiting trust with any part of the penal system.