Yesterday (July 21) our Primary Health Care team welcomed Anne Costello, of the Traveller Justice Initiative, to Pavee Point to lead an information session and discussion for Primary Health Care workers and trainees.
Anne spoke of the structural and social determinants that lead to the disproportionately high number of Travellers in prison, and of the inequalities Travellers face within the criminal justice system.
The morning’s discussion followed the launch of a new report by the Irish Penal Reform Trust: ‘Rethinking Remand: An assessment of pre‑trial detention in Ireland’. The report points to the overuse of remand detention in Irish prisons, with one in five people in prison are awaiting trial or sentencing.
The report highlights the systemic and structural bias Travellers face in bail proceedings. This where Travellers comprise less than 1% of the general population but account for at least 8% of the prison population.
Read the full report here: https://www.iprt.ie/iprt-publications/rethinking-remand-as-assessment-of-pre-trial-detention-in-ireland/