The Director General of the Irish Prison Service has appealed to people to give prisoners a second chance in society when they are released from prison.
Karen McCaffrey was speaking at an event at Loughan House Open Prison in Blacklion, Co Cavan, to mark the 50th anniversary of its opening.
Ms McCaffrey said Loughan House has made a huge contribution to the criminal justice system.
There are currently 132 prisoners in the facility where security is low, and prisoners have access to education and work in a range of social enterprises including a car wash, a coffee shop and a horticultural centre which are open to the public.
Loughan House is one of two open prisons where the goal is to prepare prisoners to make a gradual return to society.
Ms McCaffrey said there is an excellent relationship between the prison and the local community, and paid tribute to local businesspeople like restaurateur Neven Maguire who regularly gives employment to inmates. She said that men here have been on a journey from closed prisons to Loughan House and from here back to their communities.
She said people do a lot of work while in custody to prepare themselves for release including acquiring new skills and, she said, many are very different people than they were when they came into prison, having dealt with the issues which led them to being imprisoned in the first place.
Speaking about the prison population in general she urged people to give prisoners a second chance by giving them employment, accommodation and generally welcoming them back into their communities.
One prisoner who spoke to RTÉ News described how Loughan House prepared people for release by being more "normal". John said that you are not looking at concrete walls, it's very open and close to nature and there is more interaction with people.
In terms of visits, he said it is also better particularly if a prisoner has young children as they are not subjected to searches and can sit out in the grounds or in the prison coffee shop.
"John" was one of a number of prisoners who created a willow sculpture on display in the grounds to mark the 50th anniversary and he said that being involved in creative pursuits like painting has been very beneficial.
Many prisoners also work in the horticultural centre in the prison which has a number of large polytunnels producing plants which are sold to the public and they also have access to education and other services.
The Governor of Loughan House said that interaction with the community, meeting people with no agenda, is hugely important for inmates and helps them prepare for release.
Mark Lydon said they are very involved in the Manorhamilton Tidy Towns and the latest initiative in the prison is the opening of a recording studio where some of the men have begun making podcasts.
Today's events to mark the 50th anniversary of Loughan House included a cookery demonstration by Neven Maguire and a craft and farmers' market.
It was very much a community affair with local people dropping in and mingling with inmates, current and former staff. A new weather observation station on the site was also officially opened by Gerry Murphy of Met Eireann.
