An Post has launched a new set of stamps commemorating the Irish Prison Service. The stamps were designed by Zinc Design Consultants, and each feature a core aspect of the prison service.
These are the elements of care and custody, rehabilitation, restorative justice and education.
They are available at main post offices or the Irish Stamps shop at Dublin's GPO.
The prison service has responsibility for 14 prisons and places of detention, has a staff of just over 3,400 and an average prisoner population of over 4,000.
Speaking at the launch of the stamp set, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that the event was "a 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 stamps in the collection
The Minister added "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."
Welcoming the new stamps, the director-general of the Irish Prison Service Michael Donnellan commented, "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."
