Country

Ireland

Detention issue

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Legal instruments & key provisions

Legal instrument Key provision
Prison Rules 2007A convicted prisoner aged above 18 years is entitled to not less than one visits each week from family members or friends of at least 30 minutes duration. For a convicted prisoner aged less than 18 years is entitled to not less than two visits each week from family members or friends and lasting not less than 30 minutes duration. On the other hand, an unconvicted prisoner is entitled to “one visit per day from relatives or friends of not less than 15 minutes in duration on each of six days of the week, where practicable, but in any event, on not less than on each of three days of the week”. However, the Governor may allow a prisoner to receive more visits than stipulated under the law or allow visits to last longer than the required duration. A prisoner is entitled to receive visit at any “reasonable time for the purposes of consulting in relation to any matter of a legal nature in respect of which the prisoner has a direct interest, and any such visit shall take place within the view of, but out of the hearing of a prison officer". A prisoner is entitled “to send letters to his or her family or friends, and to receive as many letters as are sent to him or her by his or her family or friends”. However, in addition to being entitled to sending letters to family and friends, an unconvicted prisoner is entitled to send and receive letters from other persons “as reasonably necessary for the purposes of the management of his or her property or business affairs”. Regarding the telephone calls “the Governor may permit a prisoner to communicate with members of his or her family or his or her friends by means of telephone calls, for such period or periods of time and in accordance with such procedures, as the Governor shall determine”. Convicted prisoners above 18 years are entitled to make at least one telephone calls per week to family and friends, while those aged less than 18 years are entitled to make at least two telephone calls to family and friends, subject to availability of facilities.

NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM RECOMMENDATIONS

Year Recommendation Report