Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) would like to hear from families impacted by imprisonment

As part of its Children and Families Initiative, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has commissioned TASC, the think tank for social change to conduct a piece of research on Exploring the financial impact on children and families in Ireland when a family member is imprisoned.        

This research is necessary to better understand how poverty impacts children, young people and their families when a family member is imprisoned. Child poverty is a complex issue affecting more than 180,000 children and young individuals in Ireland, hindering their ability to achieve their full potential. When a family member goes to prison, existing financial challenges can escalate or new financial challenges can present with the loss of a wage-earner, changes in housing, reduced availability of childcare and the cost of visiting and supporting a person in prison. However, no comprehensive examination into the relationship between poverty and family imprisonment in Ireland has taken place to date, particularly with a focus on children and families of prisoners and the associated costs of having a family member in prison. 

  We are now circulating a survey to explore family members’ experiences of the financial impact of imprisonment. The purpose of this survey will be to identify the key costs associated with imprisonment on family members and, if possible, to quantify the average weekly/monthly costs associated with imprisonment for survey participants. We will also seek to identify how imprisonment impacts on the daily lives of children in terms of their health and wellbeing and their ability to participate fully in education, sports and social events.

IPRT is seeking to reach a diverse number of families throughout Ireland who have been affected by imprisonment (in the past two years).

The insights gathered from this survey will serve as a foundation for our research and recommendations to inform IPRT’s Pre-Budget proposals and further policy work.

We encourage people to share this survey to their networks to ensure we get as many responses as possible.

Click here to start the survey - https://form.jotform.com/250094860503049

Deadline for completing this survey is 11 February 2025.