Irish Penal Reform Trust

Lobbying Organisation Irish Penal Reform Trust

Date published 19 Jan, 2024

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Justice and Equality

Period 1 Sep, 2023 to 31 Dec, 2023

Specific Details Meeting and phone call with Department of Justice Assistant Secretary, Ben Ryan, to discuss penal reform priorities

Intended results Discuss IPRT's key penal reform priorities and upcoming penal policy developments

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Saoirse Brady, Executive Director, IPRT

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (1)

On return from maternity leave, IPRT's Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, met Assistant Secretary of the Department of Justice, Ben Ryan, on 5 October, to discuss IPRT's key penal reform priorities including: the work of the High Level Task Force to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of persons interacting with the criminal justice system, plans to establish a Penal Consultative Council, and the ratification of OPCAT (Places of Detention Bill 2022).

Phone call (1)

On 20 December,2023, call between Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, and Ben Ryan, Assistant Secretary (Department of Justice) to discuss the status of the Places of Detention Bill 2022 and implementation of the policy commitment to establish a Penal Consultative Council.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Ben Ryan Assistant Secretary (Department of Justice)