80 inmates sleeping on floor in Cork prison as overcrowding record broken

More than one in five people in Cork prison don’t have a bed, as the prison broke its overcrowding record this week.

There are 376 people in Cork prison today, a new overcrowding record and representing 127% capacity, making it the most overcrowded men’s prison in the country.

On Thursday, 374 people were in the prison and on Tuesday and Wednesday there were 372 people in custody there, the same as the previous record which was set in February of this year.

There are 296 beds in the prison, meaning 80 people were sleeping on the floor or on mattresses, or more than 21% of the total amount of people in the prison.

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said it “must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.” 

Last month, plans to demolish the old Cork prison - which closed in 2016 - and build a new prison alongside the current facility, were put forward by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan. The new build would cater for an additional 230 male inmates and 100 female inmates and is to be delivered by 2031 under the plans.

The plans have been opposed by TDs and councillors representing the local area, including Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould.

Mr Gould told The Echo: “The Irish Prison Service and the government have known about shortage of prison spaces for years and they’ve failed to act – talking about building a new prison up the country,” but this was not delivered, he said.

“The average prison sentence is four months… it’s like a revolving door. IPS have told me in meetings with them and in Dáil committee last year, if people have got a very short sentence, there’s no incentive to get help.

“If they engage with addiction services, that might help them when they come out, so they’re not back into prison again afterwards. We need more investment in education, treatment services – a lot of these sentences are as a result of people being in the throes of addiction.” 

Mr Gould also said: “Cork is a remand prison where people are held waiting for trial, the courts take so long that people are in prison for longer – we need more investment for the courts so that these cases are dealt with in a timely manner.” 

He added: “The government’s solution to build a new prison in Cork won’t be delivered until at least 2031 if not longer, we have a crisis in the prison service now. We need to come up with solutions, but not in the Glen. They have one prison and that is enough for any community.”