Latest news with #EamonRyan
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Dire conditions in WA prisons will have consequences for everyone
Most Western Australians are within driving distance of human rights abuses. That's the confronting reality brought into sharp focus by the prison watchdog this week. Few would expect prisoners to get an easy ride, but what is going on behind taxpayer-funded barbed wire fences at Hakea Prison is much worse — both for those inside, and the rest of us outside. Days without fresh air, sleeping on the floor next to a toilet, having to block your ears so cockroaches don't crawl in, extremely limited access to phone calls and almost non-existent education and support programs. "The conditions are still in breach of international human rights," Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan said on Tuesday, noting he'd raised similar concerns more than a year ago. Those concerns were especially significant, he said, because almost everyone who goes into prison will one day come out. How they are treated while locked up, he said, is what decides who you might be standing next to in the shopping centre or driving alongside one day. "And right now, the conditions in Hakea just simply don't provide any sort of rehabilitation, any sort of possibility for men to improve themselves so they don't return to a life of offending when they're released," he said. That's not good news for anyone, especially because the rest of the prison system is also in a pretty poor state. These issues are almost certainly not intentional. But they are an entirely predictable outcome of two key choices made by successive governments of both stripes. The first part of the problem is that WA's imprisonment rate has been increasing recently from an already high base. It rose 16 per cent between 2022 and 2024, mainly due to the rate of prisoners on remand exploding by 41 per cent. The Justice Department has said those increases can at least be partially attributed to a rise in family and domestic violence offences. Few would argue against those laws — but prison pressures would indicate they were introduced either without understanding the impact they would have on prison populations, or without regard for that impact. The same can be said of other laws which have been introduced over recent years to make it harder for some people to get bail, or to increase the length of their sentence. Hakea is particularly vulnerable to increasing remand rates because it mostly houses prisoners who are yet to be sentenced. Looking across the state though, all but two prisons are either over capacity or above 95 per cent. "The prison system is full and there is no spare capacity for more prisoners," Inspector Ryan wrote. "Likewise, there is no infrastructure capacity available should the need arise in response to a major incident." That squeeze is also raising the risk of a major incident — as shown by a riot at West Kimberley Regional Prison at the weekend. An increasing population isn't a problem in and of itself though. The problem is that sufficient capacity hasn't been built to avoid the situation where three or four prisoners are being crammed into cells designed for one or two people. And this isn't new, with Inspector Ryan's predecessor Neil Morgan calling for urgent funding for new prisons in 2016. No new prison has since been built, just additions to existing facilities. The government has begun work to turn things around at Hakea and more broadly. A state-wide infrastructure plan has been prepared by the department and is currently sitting with government. Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia told Parliament earlier this month it "seeks to address the challenge of more prisons". Then staff will need to be found and trained to run that prison — a challenge when the WA Prison Officers Union estimates the state is about 1,200 officers short already. And Papalia has said the Corrective Services Academy is running at capacity. "We need to be encouraging people to come into the job," secretary Andy Smith told ABC Radio Perth this week. "People don't go through high school thinking 'I'd love to be a prison officer' [like] they do for police, ambos, teachers, nurses, doctors. "But we've got to do something to get people into this job." Similar resourcing issues plague emergency services, education and health. All are just as important to a well-functioning society. The difference is how they affect a government's chances at the ballot box. As the family member of one recent Hakea inmate said this week, he couldn't have cared less about conditions behind bars until he personally knew the person experiencing them. Regardless of how prisons impact politicians' fortunes though, there's no excuse for a system which breaches human rights. Western Australia does not have poor finances to blame. Instead, the reported human rights abuses — which will only result in angry prisoners more likely to reoffend — are the result of choices by those in power.
ABC News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Hakea Prison still breaching national and international human rights standards
Conditions in one of WA's busiest prisons are continuing to breach national and international human rights standards, according to the prisons watchdog. An inspection found Hakea Prison in Canning Vale remained overcrowded, with some cells holding three prisoners despite being designed for one. "The conditions are still in breach of international human rights," Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan told the ABC. "The prison is full, way over capacity, and the prisoners that are being held there are not getting any sort of effective rehabilitation. The prison is the state's main remand facility, mostly holding inmates who are yet to be sentenced. Mr Ryan said the problem with a lack of rehabilitation went beyond individual prisoners. "Most people who are in prison will one day be released from prison, and they'll be standing next to you in the shopping centre or on the street," he said. "And if they don't get effective rehabilitation, they're more than likely to come out worse than they went in." Longstanding problems came to a head in mid-2024 when Mr Ryan issued a show cause notice to the government over its running of the facility — one of the strongest warnings he can issue. Since then, he said, there had been increased recruitment of prison officers to address staffing pressures and the creation of a task force to tackle other issues. "Despite this, the men at Hakea are still being held in conditions that do not meet the basic level of decent treatment required under national and international human rights and standards," Mr Ryan's report reads. "There is limited evidence available to me to show that the significant system level reform and change needed is likely to be achieved." The report's first recommendation is for the government to hold a "formal inquiry" into problems at Hakea to work out a path forward. "The problems in Hakea are symptomatic of the broader problems within the justice system," Mr Ryan said. "I think we need to have a circuit breaker. "We need to look at all options, not just how to manage prisons, not just how to have increased bed capacity. "We need to look at diversion programs, we need to look at pre-release programs, we need to look at programs and rehabilitation within prison, and then better support once people are released from prison to help them not return to prison." A family member of a prisoner who was recently in Hakea has described conditions as "barbaric", echoing many of Inspector Ryan's concerns. The ABC has referred to the family member as Darren because he asked to remain anonymous due to an upcoming sentencing hearing. "The conditions in the cells are unhygienic. There's cockroaches everywhere," he said. "[They said] on one occasion there were 40 cockroaches overnight that they caught in one room, and three [people] to a cell. Darren said he had tried to visit the family member six times over about two months, but half were cancelled before he could attend, which he blamed on short-staffing and lockdowns. He said he used to believe in locking up prisoners and throwing away the key, but seeing a close family member's experience first-hand had completely changed his views. "We should be putting money into the prisons to do rehabilitation because all we're doing in there is breeding offenders and turning them against the custodial system," he said. The family member had recently been transferred to a different prison, Darren said, where they were doing "much better". In a statement, the Justice Department said it was "actively implementing changes" at Hakea, including efforts to improve medical and custodial staffing. "We remain committed to addressing issues identified by [the Inspector of Custodial Services] and delivering better conditions and outcomes for Hakea Prisoners," Director General Kylie Maj said. Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said a Hakea task force was working to improve the safety, care and welfare of prisoners and return to normal daily routines. "Beyond Hakea, the department is also strategically managing the overall adult prisoner population across WA through a newly established adult prisoner population co-ordination working group," he said. "This initiative demonstrates our commitment to systemic, state-wide solutions." The department supported or supported in principle all of the recommendations it was responsible for, including allowing all prisoners access to at least one hour of fresh air each day, ensuring access to clean clothes and increasing access to social visits.
The Journal
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Eamon Ryan lands new role as the EU's housing tsar
FORMER GREEN PARTY leader Eamon Ryan has been selected to chair an EU housing advisory board. The so-called EU housing tsar will chair an expert panel tasked with providing independent policy recommendations on housing. Europe is seeking to reduce the cost of building, buying and renting homes in EU member states, through loosening public expenditure rules and exploring methods for member state collaboration. Over 200 people applied to the board, which typically comes with an expenses rate for travel and other costs, as well as reimbursement fees. Ryan is joined by 15 other people from different backgrounds, and expertise on housing policy, on the panel. Advertisement He confirmed the news and explained his new role in a post to social media this morning. The Journal reported last week that the EU is considering placing restrictions on short-term lets in order to free up housing supply for those living in large cities . While the EU cannot set housing targets, it can reduce barriers to the market. It comes after he was appointed as a high advocate for Ireland on a coalition between governments and green NGOs as part of the UN Environment Programme. The ex-Minister for Transport and Climate, Communications and the Environment stepped down from this party leadership role in June 2024 after over 13 years in the role. He served as one of three coalition leaders during the last government. Ryan announced at the time of his leadership resignation that he would not be contesting the 2024 general election and stepping away from politics. He was among a number of senior politicians to do so in the last term. Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and ex Tánaiste Simon Coveney also landed new roles since leaving public office, in an advisory role at the PR company Penta Group and a consultant role to EY Ireland , respectively. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Eamon Ryan appointed chairman of EU housing advisory board
Former minister for the environment Eamon Ryan has been appointed by the European Commission to chair their housing advisory board. Having run unsuccessfully for the Dublin constituency in the 2014 EU parliament elections, this is Mr Ryan's first job in an EU institution. The former Green Party leader will lead the 15-person board which will answer to the commission's housing taskforce. It is 'tasked with providing concrete, independent policy recommendations for the commission to consider' in relation to the European Affordable Housing Plan, expected to be released in early 2026. READ MORE The EU's renewed housing initiative 'intends to at least double renovation rates in the EU by breaking down long-standing barriers to energy and resource-efficient renovation as well as improving reuse and recycling'. 'By 2030 the construction sector could see 35 million renovated buildings and up to 160,000 additional green jobs,' the commission said. [ Eamon Ryan: We can't afford to let the climate crisis get swallowed up in the culture wars Opens in new window ] The board met for the first time yesterday and is expected to reconvene in September. The commission said 'over 200 qualified individuals applied' to sit on the board, with the final board being 'a balanced representation across different profiles and areas of expertise, along with a geographical and gender balance'. Other members of the board include university professors, typically in sociology, economics and government, current and former politicians, investment managers and real estate executives. Mr Ryan stood down from his Green Party leadership position in June 2024 after a poor result in EU and local elections. He did not contest the general election later that year. He has served as minister for transport and minister for the environment, climate and communications from 2020 to 2025. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann from 2002 to 2011 and again from 2016 to 2024.
Euractiv
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
The trouble with trilogues – when things start falling apart
The palaver last weekend after the European Commission's press service revealed that it intended to withdraw at the last minute an anti-greenwashing bill has reignited a debate about the integrity of the EU legislative process. The problem is rooted in the fact that the European Commission – often referred to as the executive arm of the EU and tasked with ensuring implementation of, and compliance with, European law – also has sole prerogative for proposing new laws. The two bodies that complete the holy trinity of EU government – the directly elected European Parliament and the Council of Ministers – do not enjoy that right. They can (and in resolutions and summit conclusions, frequently do) 'call on' the Commission to propose a law. But the Berlaymont is not obliged to comply. So the main arena where the two legislative bodies get to put their stamp on EU law is in back-room negotiations between MEPs and diplomats, with the Commission acting as umpire or 'honest broker' – hence the Brussels neologism 'trilogue talks'. Playing the game As countries like Russia or, closer to home, Hungary have shown us, democracy is not merely a matter of having the right institutions in place, a written constitution (the EU has to make do with its treaties, after efforts to forge a European basic law collapsed in 2004) and an election win. Democracy also requires that politicians observe democratic customs and norms. Put simply, that they play the game. The trilogue process does not even have the benefit of being codified in law. It is a custom that has arisen because the alternative – endless readings and re-readings of bills conducted at least partly in public – would probably drag on for years before hitting a brick wall. Lately, several governments haven't quite been playing the game. Germany – egged on by the now moribund liberal FDP, a junior coalition party at the time – reneged in 2023 on a trilogue agreement to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, until the Commission served up a plate of face-saving fudge. Viktor Orbán's Hungary pulled a similar stunt last year when, after realising it carried the casting vote, it flipped on an agreed Nature Restoration Law. A 'disgrace', cried Ireland's environment minister Eamon Ryan. It only made it into the Official Journal after Austria got off the fence. Now, with a deforestation regulation postponed before even taking effect, many fear the nature law is in the Commission's sights as it presses on with the 'simplification' Green Deal legislation. Ireland had warned that 'backtracking on agreed negotiations and compromises would jeopardise Europe's democratic institutions and call into question the entire EU policy-making and decision-making processes'. Now the denizens of the Berlaymont have been accused of not playing the game – by pre-empting the outcome of a final trilogue session and threatening to withdraw a Green Claims Directive that it feared was not shaping up as it wanted (that is, exempting the vast majority of EU firms). 'Abuse of power' 'This is a clear case of the Commission abusing its power in a partisan way against European citizens' best interests,' parliamentary rapporteur Tiemo Wölken said, pointing the finger at President von der Leyen, her Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, and their political family the European People's Party (EPP). After the Commission's unexpected intervention, Italy withdrew its support and the EU Council could no longer support the bill in its current form. With the EPP and right-wing allies having already threatened to reject any trilogue deal in parliament, it was effectively dead in the water anyway. A meeting of EU diplomats on Wednesday saw several countries raise doubts about trust and the credibility of the legislative process while some pointed to an increasing tendency of the EU executive to try and bury files, according a source close to the meeting. It remains to be seen whether the incoming Danish presidency of the Council of the EU can salvage something from this mess, but in some ways the damage is already done. For its part, the Commission has reiterated since Friday that it reserves the 'right of initiative' – to propose or withdraw legislation at will. Spokespeople have papered over the inconvenient fact that the EU Court of Justice ruled a decade ago that the right of initiative does not amount to a right of veto. Whether the European Commission's belated justification for its 'intention' to withdraw – that the legislation was incompatible with a deregulatory 'simplification' agenda that had not yet been dreamt up when the bill was tabled in 2023 – would have stood up in court, we will probably never know. But if the rules of the game have been changed, it's time somebody told us.
