ID: CRS2023-PID200 29 Mar 2023

by Fergal Black, Emma Regan, Sheila Connolly , James Leonard, Timmy Long, Caron McCaffrey

Closing Panel: Lived Experience Perspectives on Rehabilitating Reintegration

CRS2023 Closing Panel: Lived Experience Perspectives on Rehabilitating Reintegration by Fergal Black, Caron McCaffrey, Sheila Connolly, Emma Regan, James Leonard and Timmy Long (CRS2023-PID200)

Authors

Fergal Black

Director of Healthcare , Irish Prison Service

Fergal Black was appointed Director of Healthcare in the Irish Prison Service, in June 2008. In March 2012 he was assigned additional responsibilities including: Work Training, Education, Psychology, Chaplaincy, Integrated Sentenced Management and Resettlement. For the previous 25 years he worked in the Health Service Executive as Superintendent Community Welfare Officer, General Manager and Local Health Manager for Dublin West. He was seconded to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in 1999 for six years to work on the establishment of the Reception and Integration Agency and subsequently as a member of the Youth Justice Review Team.

Emma Regan

Head of Psychological Services, Irish Prison Service

Dr Emma Regan is a Clinical Psychologist, qualifying from the University of Surrey in 2008. Her background is in forensic mental health, having worked in low, medium and high security hospitals in the UK for 10 years. She has worked as a clinician in the IPS since 2012 and as IPS Head of Psychological Services since 2015.

Sheila Connolly

CEO, Cork Alliance Centre (CA)

Sheila Connolly is CEO of the Cork Alliance Centre (CA) since it opened in 2002. She has been instrumental in informing its ethos, programme design and implementation. CA works with people released from prison. Its principal aim is desistance from crime, doing so through facilitating the process of personal recovery and empowerment. Sheila holds a Masters in Restorative Justice. In 2001 she established the Linkage Programme Office in Cork, supporting Probation Service clients into training and employment. Prior to that she worked overseas with Concern Worldwide for six years in East Africa and Southeast Asia.

James Leonard

The Two Norries Podcast

James Leonard was born in Dublin in 1985. He grew up in Hollyhill, Northwest Cork City, and spent over 10 years in addiction, leading to prison and hospital admissions. James got sober in 2013 and through education, rebuilt his life. James has a Degree in Social Science (Youth & Community Work) and a Masters in Criminology from University College Cork. While in University, James has won two scholarships and published widely. He now guest lectures in various Universities, works as a community health worker, co-hosts a popular podcast and works in partnership with the Irish Prison Service.

Timmy Long

The Two Norries Podcast

Timmy Long was born in 1981 in Hollyhill on the Northside of Cork City. He grew up with two younger brothers in the care of his mother who was a single parent. In their household, poor mental health, poverty and violence were a daily occurrence. A life of crime, alcohol, drug, and gambling addiction followed, resulting in 15 years of admission to treatment centres and imprisonment. Timmy has a Degree in Construction Management and is completing a Masters in Mindfulness. He owns a construction company and car valeting service which he runs alongside his wife, Nicole. They have two children.

Caron McCaffrey

Director General, Irish Prison Service

Ms McCaffrey was appointed Director General of the Irish Prison Service following an open competition by the Public Appointments Service on behalf of the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC). Ms McCaffrey is the first female Director General of the Irish Prison Service. Ms McCaffrey has been a EuroPris board member since 2019 and was elected as President in October 2021. The Director General (DG) of the Irish Prison Service has responsibility for the leadership and management of the Service and the implementation of Government policies and strategies. This includes leading a management team responsible for the operation and management of the prison system on a day-to-day basis which will include all aspects of sentence administration, security, human resources, financial control and service development. The DG is accountable for providing strong leadership and direction in a complex and rapidly evolving pressurised environment with a team of more than 3,200 staff and a budget of approximately €340 million. Caron McCaffrey has worked for eighteen years in the justice sector, first serving in the Department of Justice and Equality in Asylum Policy Division, the Press Office, and the Youth Justice Unit before taking up a role in the Irish Prison Service in 2006 as Press and Programme Manager. She was promoted to Director of Corporate Services in 2008 and has since held responsibility for a range of portfolios including Human Resources, and Finance and Estates. She is a graduate of NUI Maynooth (BA) and Dublin City University (MA International Relations), holds an Advanced Diploma in Applied Employment Law from the Kings Inns, and recently graduated from the UCD Smurfit Business School with a Postgraduate Diploma in Corporate Governance.

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