Cork Prison is at 130% capacity with 88 inmates sleeping on the floor
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said that it “must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts” so does not have control over the numbers in custody.
Cork Prison is currently operating at 130% capacity, and a former inmate has said that many services in the prison do not run when it is overcrowded.
The former record of 372 people in the prison, which has capacity for 296, has been broken the last four days in a row, with 384 people incarcerated there on Tuesday, meaning 88 inmates did not have a bed.
A former inmate in the prison told that the overcrowding means many people having to sleep on the floor for weeks or months at a time, in a small cell with three people.
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) told that it “must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts” so does not have control over the numbers in custody.
The spokesperson continued: “Due to the levels of overcrowding, prison operations are currently managed through the implementation of regime management plans in each prison which ensure that all essential services are being provided to prisoners.
The former inmate explained that the gym and school were cancelled frequently because they didn’t have the officers available, "which I think was a knock-on effect from the overcrowding,” he said.
‘School’ can be classes on topics like woodworking, languages or computers, or attending Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings where speakers come in from outside the prison.
The former inmate explained: “If they don’t have enough officers to be over in that area to make it safe, they don’t open it. If there’s no school that day, you have to go to the yard or stay in your cell.”
He added that the prison was over capacity for the entirety of the period he was incarcerated there, so could not compare it to when it was quieter. "There are definitely more fights on the A wing, which is where they are all three to a cell.”
Though many inmates are getting released early due to the lack of prison space, he said:
The IPS spokesperson added that the Service was working closely with officials in the Department of Justice to take steps to ensure a safe working environment for staff, and the safety and security of people in custody.
They added that exceedances of capacity are dealt with through a combination of inter-prison transfers and temporary release, and that “significant capital funding” has been made available by the government to enhance the existing prison infrastructure and provide additional capacity.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan told Fianna Fáil Cork North Central TD Pádraig O’Sullivan last week: “In order to deliver increased prison capacity the IPS has developed a renewed capital plan that has the potential to deliver 1,595 additional spaces on existing sites across the prison estate, including Old Cork Prison.”
He explained that a feasibility report on the prison commissioned in 2023 by the IPS recommends the construction of a new prison on the site. “This project is at a very early stage of development," the minister added.
Nationally, there are 5,490 people in prisons, with the IPS having capacity for 4,672, meaning it is 818 beds short.
The plans for new prisons across Ireland would provide almost double the amount of beds needed today, but the new Cork facility is not expected to be built until 2031, and meanwhile the numbers in custody are steadily increasing.
In July 8 last year, there were 329 people in Cork Prison, meaning the numbers have increased by 17% in twelve months.
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