Stronger support for fathers in prison to maintain good relations with their children would reduce reoffending, an expert on fatherhood will say this evening.
Fergus Hogan, social worker and lecturer at the Waterford Institute of Technology's (WIT) Department of Social Studies, will deliver a lecture on the issue in Mountjoy Prison. He says the most excluded category of people in Irish society are prisoners - 97 per cent of whom are men, and two-thirds of these are fathers.
While he concedes many will have little sympathy for the parenting rights of prisoners, he insists the relationship between a man and his children is the most important he will have. Supporting male prisoners in maintaining this is key to helping them in "turning their lives around". He also says the impact of forced removal of a father from a child's life should not be dismissed.
The WIT is currently researching the impact of incarceration on fathering. "In our research a universal thing men say is that becoming a father was the single biggest event that has changed their lives. If these prisoners were supported and encouraged to focus on their children . . . I would absolutely say this would help them turn their lives around, to refocus and that this would reduce recidivism."
Often men who are in and out of prison will later in life have had a period of "critical self-reflection" and realise the importance of family. Many at this point, says Mr Hogan, make a conscious effort not to be imprisoned again. If men could be encouraged towards this stage earlier in their lives it would cut crime.
He says imprisonment undermines fathers' ability to support their children's mother and be relevant to their children.
This can mean that after they are released they may not be accepted by their children as a father-figure. Mr Hogan says this can lead to a cycle where the "most important relationship in their life" has been so undermined by the man's imprisonment there is little incentive to "turn their life around".
While supports for imprisoned mothers exist, like special family visiting rooms and play areas, too often these supports are not considered for men, added Mr Hogan. In Mountjoy Prison for example, a screen separates men from their families, and at any one time there are seven prisoners being visited in one room.
Governor of the prison, John Lonergan, said the visiting system for men "inhibits any sort of intimate contact between fathers and their children".
Male prisoners serving life sentences do have access to a private family room for two hours every three months and Mr Lonergan hopes this may be made a monthly right in the future.
The Irish Prison Service said it worked in partnership with the Probation and Welfare Service to provide best possible supports to prisoners and their families. It said it provided "new external visitors' facilities" at Castlerea, Mountjoy, Cloverhill and the Midlands prisons.
