The criminal justice system is failing and needs radical reform with restorative justice replacing jail, prison chaplains said today.
Their report put forward a string of deficiencies, including a lack of treatment for drug addicts, sex offenders and inmates who fear they will reoffend.
The chaplains said the system was failing miserably, had limited vision and is a recipe for disaster. They criticised plans to expand prison space by 1,000 even though the mentally ill and children are being incarcerated.
"The over-investment in building programmes and the lack of investment of resources in helping people rebuild their lives is a recipe for disaster," their report found.
Again St Patrick's Institute for young offenders was branded as the "prep school" for Mountjoy and Wheatfield prison.
"Despite countless reports and volumes of empirical evidence indicating the ongoing deficiencies of this narrow approach the state continues to place its trust and its money into a system that is failing miserably," the report said.
The report has been sent to Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan and the chaplains are seeking a meeting with him.
Sr Imelda Wickham, Prison Chaplains national co-ordinator, said jail was not the answer.
PA