This article explores the nature of public attitudes towards the use of imprisonment in Ireland in 2019 through the use of a quantitative survey. A literature review prefaces these findings, discussing the level of public knowledge of crime and penal policy in Ireland and outlining why public opinion is an important contributor to penal policy development. It goes on to explore how punitiveness can manifest in both public opinion and penal policy and critically analyses the punitive surge as it applies to the Irish context, highlighting the need for criminological research to be context-specific. The survey findings are subsequently analysed and applied to the arguments discussed in the review of the literature. The survey demonstrates that knowledge of the prison system and education level are positively correlated with rehabilitative attitudes towards crime and punishment, and in light of these findings, the article recommends a public information campaign to combat punitive rhetoric surrounding crime and punishment.

P.67 4.3 Offending and Drug Addiction
The majority of respondents (76%) agreed at least somewhat with the statement that offenders with a drug addiction should receive treatment in drug recovery programmes instead of being sent to prison. Chi-square tests for independence indicated a significant association between the level of knowledge of the prison system and the tendency to agree with the aforementioned statement (p =.022). No significant association was found to exist between level of education, age, gender, or geographic location and the likelihood of agreeing with the above statement. Thus, knowledge of the Irish prison system was found to be correlated with support for drug treatment alternatives to custody.

4.5 Drug Decriminalisation
61% of respondents agreed at least somewhat with the statement that criminalising drug use creates more problems than it solves. Chi-square tests for independence indicated a significant association between knowledge of the prison system and support for drug decriminalisation, i.e. agreeing with the aforementioned statement (p < .001). No significant correlation was found between age, gender, geographic location or educational attainment and support for drug decriminalisation.