18 awaiting deportation held in Cork prison in second half of 2025

Eighteen people, none of whom had a criminal conviction, were held in Cork Prison for up to 52 days while awaiting deportation in the second half of last year, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has said.

From mid-June to mid-December 2025, 18 people were held in the prison while awaiting deportation from the State, the IPS confirmed to The Echo following a Freedom of Information request.

The length of time they spent in the prison varied from two to 52 days, slightly under the maximum of 56 days allowed by law. None of the 18 people held in the prison during this time had a criminal conviction, IPS said.

In October of last year, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said in the Dáil that returning people voluntarily is his department’s preferred option.

“If a person does not remove themselves from the State following the issuance of a deportation order, they will be removed. My department has taken action to significantly improve immigration-enforcement measures and increase removals,” he said.

Mr O’Callaghan said the subject of a deportation order may be detained under Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1999 for up to 56 days in one of the prescribed places of detention, which include prisons and garda stations.

Of the 267 individuals whose deportation orders had been enforced up to October 2025, 212 were detained prior to deportation. Only 25 of these had criminal convictions. The average length of detention prior to deportation was 28 days.

The figures for Cork Prison came among consistent overcrowding at the facility, which was considerably over its 296-bed capacity on each day in the six-month period covered by the FOI request.

On Monday of last week, the prison saw its highest ever number of people detained with 410 inmates — meaning 114 of them were without beds. By Tuesday, this had dropped to 400. By last Friday, the figure stood at 395.

Yesterday, there were 396 inmates at the prison.

Cork public representatives have expressed concern that people are getting out of prison early or not going at all due to overcrowding.

The Irish Prison Service 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.

“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 said.