Electronic tags being considered to tackle Cork Prison overcrowding

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan has said that work is ongoing to address overcrowding in prisons, with potential methods including the rollout of electronic tagging.

It comes as as nearly one in four inmates currently in Cork Prison do not have a bed.

There were 392 people in Cork Prison yesterday, close to the record high of 394 seen at the start of the week.

The prison has capacity for 296 inmates.

The figures represent 132% capacity, and mean that 96, or 24.5%, of people incarcerated in the prison do not have a bed.

Acutely aware

Responding to a parliamentary question, Mr O’Callaghan said he was “acutely aware” of capacity restraints in prisons and the challenges faced by those who work and live in them.

He said that overall funding for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) had increased by 18% when compared to 2024, bringing the total allocated to nearly €525m.

The IPS aims to recruit up to 300 prison officers in 2025, he added.

Nationally, 370 prison bedspaces have been delivered since 2022, with 101 more to be delivered before the end of this year, and there are plans to deliver 1,500 additional prison spaces in the future.

Mr O’Callaghan said there has been €495m allocated to the IPS for 2026-2030, with projects planned including the demolition of the old Cork prison and the building of a new prison.

“It will also support the construction of a prison at Thornton,” he said.

Community service

Mr O’Callaghan said he has also been working on measures to increase the use of community service as an alternative, and on implementing electronic tagging for “appropriate categories of prisoner”.

“Work is underway to achieve this with the commencement of a project to examine how electronic monitoring can be brought into use in line with existing legislative provisions.

“An initial rollout of electronic monitoring is expected later this year following a procurement exercise to select a service provider,” said Mr O’Callaghan.

“A request for information was published on eTenders on Thursday, June 5.

“This is a key early step in engaging with the market and preparing for a future request for tender.”