Cork Prison numbers highest on record 

Cork Prison reached yet another overcrowding record, with 404 people incarcerated there yesterday.

The prison has been over-capacity every day since 2023, but the numbers have gone above 400 only a handful of times, all in the latter half of this year. The previous record, 403, was hit in August this year and was reached again just before Christmas.

Cork Prison has enough beds for 296 inmates, meaning 108 people — or nearly 27% of those imprisoned there — must sleep on mattresses on cell floors.

Yesterday, Cork Prison was operating at 136% capacity, far above the national average of 122%, and was the joint-most overcrowded men’s prison in Ireland, on a par with Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.

There were 5,673 people in prison yesterday across Ireland, but only 4,718 beds available, meaning 955 people did not have a bed, with prisons utilising mattresses on the floors of cells to deal with overcrowding.

Temporary release

It comes despite 137 prisoners being granted temporary release this Christmas across the country.

No breakdown was provided on which prison or prisons they were released from, but those released are usually from the country’s two open prisons, Shelton Abbey in Co Wicklow and Loughan House in Co Cavan.

The Government has plans in place to significantly increase prison capacity.

These plans include building a new prison in Cork on the site of the old Cork Prison, which closed in 2016, but this will not be completed until 2031.

Expansion

Smaller expansion plans at other prisons will come about before then.

“The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts,” said a spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service.

“As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time,” they said.

“Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, officials in the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through the use of temporary release,” they added.

“Decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case-by-case basis, and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made.

“The Irish Prison Service is 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,” said the spokesperson.