Stamp set celebrates Prison Service
7 August 2014
The stamps, designed by Zinc Design Consultants, each feature a core aspect of the prison service: Care & Custody, Rehabilitation, Restorative Justice and Education. The stamps and an attractive first day cover (FDC) are available at main post offices, the Irish Stamps shop at Dublin’s GPO or online through irishstamps.ie
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is a key arm of the criminal justice system. Its mission is to provide safe and secure custody and dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners. For decades the men and women of the Prison Service have been delivering on its mission, making a positive contribution to public safety and to providing a safer community for all through a service firmly grounded in respect for human dignity.
Today the prison service has responsibility for 14 prisons, and places of detention, a staff of just over 3,400 and an average prisoner population of over 4,000.
Speaking at the launch of the stamp set at the GPO on Thursday evening, the Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald TD said that the event was “an historic occasion for the Irish Prison Service and is worthy recognition of the work and service provided by all of you who work behind the walls of our prisons”
The Minister added that “While prison is meant to be punitive through the deprivation of liberty, more importantly it provides an opportunity for a person who may have been marginalised by society, missed out on education or caught in a spiral of addiction and criminal activity to address the causes of their offending behaviour. It is the responsibility of the Irish Prison Service, its staff, its partners, both statutory and non statutory, to provide those opportunities through the provision of services such as education, work training, healthcare services and drug treatment, among others”
While the Minister acknowledged the work of the Irish Prison Service she also recognised the contribution and support from all the agencies and bodies which work alongside the Prison Service on a daily basis.
Welcoming the new stamp set, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service Michael Donnellan told the gathering that “this collection honours every member of staff of the Irish Prison Service and highlights that the Irish Prison Service is not simply a collection of institutions made up of high walls and secure doors but is made up of the men and women of the Service who work each day behind those walls and doors for the State”
Donal Connell, Chief Executive of An Post, said, ”We are delighted to produce this commemorative stamp set which rightly recognises the role, the responsibility and the work done by this essential frontline service. ”
