Review 'urgently needed' into overcrowded Cork Prison as number of assaults rise

The number of physical assaults increased in Cork Prison last year, with 150 assaults by inmates on either staff members or other prisoners.

There were 135 prisoner-on-prisoner direct physical assaults in Cork Prison last year, the second-highest amount in Ireland, according to figures released by the Irish Prison Service (IPS).

The figure marks a 20% increase from the previous year, when 112 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults occurred, and a 121% increase from 2019, when 61 such assaults were reported.

While there was a 3% year-on-year decrease nationally in the number of prisoner-on-staff direct assaults, whereby a prisoner intentionally applies force to or intentionally causes an impact to the body of an operational prison staff member, they increased by 36% in Cork Prison from 11 in 2023 to 15 in 2024.

Additional aggressive and threatening incidents, meaning “serious threat/intimidation, sexual harassment, sexual assault, exposure to bodily fluids, etc” also rose slightly from two in 2023 to three in 2024, while the number of physical interventions dropped from 21 to 10 in Cork Prison.

Physical interventions are where “inadvertent or unintentional striking of a staff member or injury to a prisoner occurs in the course of a planned...or spontaneous physical intervention”.

The rise in assaults comes against a backdrop of persistent overcrowding at Cork Prison, which had 50 inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor yesterday, with the figure having gone as high as 76 people without proper beds earlier this year.

Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, Pádraig O’Sullivan, said that the assault increases were “undoubtedly” due to overcrowding.

“Prison capacity in Cork is under constant pressure,” he told The Echo.

“We urgently need the review that was commissioned into prison capacity nationwide to be published, as attacks on prison staff, and prisoner-on-prisoner incidents are undoubtedly caused by capacity pressures.”

He added that he has met with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan and stressed the importance of addressing this issue. “I’m hopeful that he will be in a position to announce interventions regarding extending prison spaces in the coming months,” he said.

Mr O’Sullivan added that the average daily number in custody in Cork Prison increased from 271 in 2023 to 335 in 2024. “In my opinion, much of the incidents occurring in our prisons could be curtailed if capacity was added,” he said.

An IPS spokesperson said that any act of violence against prison staff is “unacceptable”, and that any criminal act carried out within a prison, including an assault on a staff member, will be reported to An Gardaí Síochána for investigation and prosecution. “It is also vitally important that staff who are subject to acts of violence or who witness incidents in our prisons are given the necessary support afterwards.”

The Criminal Justices (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 increased the maximum sentence for assaulting or threatening to assault a peace officer from seven to 12 years, they said. All staff have access to the employee assistance programme, which provides a confidential service offering information, advice, and onward referrals, including playing a key role in supporting staff, particularly those injured on duty.

“The provision of an independent counselling service for staff, which is provided by Inspire Workplaces, has been an important addition to the supports available to staff,” the spokesperson added. “The feedback regarding this service is very positive.”