Most people paid little attention to the "draconian" 2007 Criminal Justice Bill because we live in a consumer-driven society, according to Michael O'Higgins SC.

"People have lost interest in the issue of rights. They see human rights in the justice system as something that does not affect them. Middle-class people see it as other people's rights being diluted, not theirs. Only when they experience rough justice themselves will it come home to them, " he told the Sunday Tribune ahead of a conference he addressed yesterday.

O'Higgins was one of several speakers who addressed the symposium 'Human Rights & Criminal Justice', organised by the Irish Human Rights Commission and the Law Society at Blackhall Place, Dublin.

"In 1984, the first Criminal Justice Act was brought in in Ireland. It was debated for 18 months and wasn't signed into law for three years. At that time, there were allegations of a so-called 'heavy gang'. Fast forward to 2007 and it's completely turned on its head. Now there are tribunals revealing corruption and the public are completely uninterested. There was no debate whatsoever about the Criminal Justice Bill. The opposition used the debate time to bring in more draconian measures, " said O'Higgins.

Paul Bailey, director of Blanchardstown Offenders for New Directions (Bond), a community-based organisation that works with young ex-offenders, also spoke at the conference.

"When I asked the young people I work with about their human rights in prison and since they came out, they all said 'rights, what rights?'

They felt completely dehumanised in prison and since they came out, they feel they could never tell anyone they were in prison because of the stigma, " he said.

One big problem facing exprisoners is that often they are not told they are to be released until hours beforehand.

"This leaves them with no time to find accommodation or look for a job. They often end up homeless because their families won't take them back because of the trouble they have caused. They then end up back in trouble and soon afterwards, back in prison. It's a revolving door system that does not work, " said Bailey.