Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Maths In Prison, Catherine Byrne, Michael Carr

Articles

I teach maths to all levels in an adult male remand prison in Ireland and am also studying for a PhD in maths in prison education in Technological University Dublin (DIT). This paper describes recent initiatives piloted by maths teachers and school management to increase attendance, engagement and certification in maths. It assesses the effects of the initiatives and looks at future potential in this setting and in others. To set the paper in context, I begin by describing a typical day as a prison maths teacher.

Prison Policy In Times Of Austerity: Lessons From Ireland, Mary Rogan

Articles

The catastrophic collapse in the once booming Irish economy has led to swingeing budgets, huge falls in property prices, rising unemployment, cut backs in public services, and the ignominy of a bailout financed by the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank. As has been the case for all aspects of public expenditure, prison policy-makers are now regularly using the language of efficiency and value for money when discussing plans for Ireland’s prisons. The state’s current economic woes are having some interesting effects on the direction of prison policy. Plans are afoot to reduce the prison …

Rehabilitation, Research, And Reform: Prison Policy In Ireland, Mary Rogan

Articles

The paper tracks the concept of rehabilitation within official thinking in

Ireland since the foundation of the State. It explores when and how the term was first

used and how it has fared since. It then examines barriers to and the role of research

in the making of prison policy and comments on data deficits in the system at present.

Finally it looks at the role of interest groups within the criminal justice system in

Ireland, and specifically their effect, or potential effect, on the formation of prison

policy.

Who Benefits From Early Childcare Subsidy Design In Ireland?, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes

Articles

Best Newcomer Article

The design of policy tools reveals underlying biases that are not easily identified in policy documents. A review of two early childhood education and care subsidies in Ireland aimed at different target populations exposes differential treatment of children, parents and service providers. It also demonstrates how in a split system ‘early education’ is prioritised over ‘childcare’. The designs serve to reinforce stereotypes that enable the powerful and advantaged to accrue benefits while those perceived to be less deserving are burdened through the maldistribution of resources.