Republican News · Thursday 24 January 2002

Coiste welcomes NESF ex-prisoners report

Coiste na n-Iarchimí, the national umbrella group for republican ex-prisoner organisations, has broadly welcomed the report on Reintegration of Prisoners published by the National Economic and Social Form in Dublin on Tuesday, 22 January.

"We are pleased that many of our recommendations made on behalf of the community of political ex-prisoners were included in the report," said Coiste director Mike Ritchie. "It is very important that the distinction between those jailed for criminal offences and those for political offences be made and the report 'emphasises the importance of policy makers and service providers recognising in their work the differing re-integration needs of prisoners'.

"We are pleased to note that An Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern has stated his support for the ending of the ban on all ex-prisoners obtaining State employment and an end to discrimination on the basis of a prisoner's past offences."

Coiste na n-Iarchimí calls on legislators to implement the NESF's recommendations, especially its call to introduce a system to allow for records to be expunged after a period of time, thus bringing Ireland into line with European practice and to amend the Employment Equality Act of 1998, '...to include protection from discrimination on the grounds of a criminal record'.

"Republican ex-prisoners, of whom there are approximately 4,000 in the South, have experienced difficulties in accessing PSV licences, foreign travel, adoption and accessing credit, for example, as well as difficulties in the area of access to employment."