Prison overcrowding: 120 prisoners without beds as system reaches full capacity

18 comments
  1. Something something can’t build them overnight

    Genuinely feels like the wheels are coming off the country as every few months pass

    Some of the article:

    “The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said it is gravely concerned at new figures which show the prison system has reached full capacity, with a number of prisons significantly overcrowded.

    There are currently 4,416 prisoners in custody with only a 4,411 bed capacity across the system, according to figures from the Irish Prison Service (IPS).

    Due to overcrowding, the IPS said, there are currently 120 prisoners who have to sleep on mattresses due to the lack of beds.

    While the system had reached 100 per capacity, overcrowding in some prisons is even worse, with Limerick’s female prison currently at 164 per cent capacity.”

  2. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said it is gravely concerned at new figures which show the prison system has reached full capacity, with a number of prisons significantly overcrowded.

    There are currently 4,416 prisoners in custody with only a 4,411 bed capacity across the system, according to figures from the Irish Prison Service (IPS).

    Due to overcrowding, the IPS said, there are currently 120 prisoners who have to sleep on mattresses due to the lack of beds.

    While the system had reached 100 per capacity, overcrowding in some prisons is even worse, with Limerick’s female prison currently at 164 per cent capacity.

    Figures show the male prison in Limerick was at 119 per cent capacity, while Mountjoy male prison in Dublin was 10 per cent over capacity and the female prison was at 103 per cent capacity.

    Molly Joyce, acting IPRT executive director, said the figures were a “watershed moment” for the prison system.

    We now have a prison population that is growing at a worrying rate and without strong action from Government the problems caused by this rapid rate of increase will continue,” she said.

    Ms Joyce said if the problem continued to get worse there is a risk rehabilitative services would not be able to be delivered effectively to prisoners, which undermined the main purpose of prison.

    There continues to be an “over-reliance” on sending people to prison for less serious offences, she said.

    In a statement, the IPS said it had “no control” over the numbers in custody at any given time, which was a result of decisions in the courts.

    New accommodation in Limerick Prison would provide an extra 90 beds for men and 22 beds for women, it said.

    The accommodation for male prisons was partially open while it was expected the extra beds for female prisoners would be ready in the next two months.

    The number of people in custody at any point was subject to regular “peaks and troughs”, the statement said.

    The statement said the “need to ensure the continued availability of modern prison facilities with adequate capacity will continue to be central to the work” of the prison service.

    Ms Joyce said numbers in prisons could be reduced in the short term by the “careful and structured use of temporary and early release measures”.

    The IPRT director said the organisation welcomed Government commitments to “move away from practices that rely heavily on imprisonment”, but added that was of no help to people “sitting in overcrowded prisons” this week.

    Jack Power

  3. Fucking immigrants coming over here and taking our prision spaces! My brother got a suspended sentence because they couldn’t find a bed for him and he’s trying to make a grime rap record, now he has to scrub Mountjoy and portlaoise prison references from his upcoming album!

  4. Anyone know of the recidivism rates ? Are they improving?

    Another issue, people getting sentenced to 6 months (any short sentences) and being let out immediately, due to overcrowding, are there any figures on that?

  5. From statista per 100,000 inhabitants.

    Russia 328.1

    Turkey 325.4

    Georgia 231.9

    Azerbaijan 215.6

    Slovakia 192.1

    Lithuania 190.3

    Czechia 180.2

    Hungary 179.7

    Poland 179.4

    Estonia 176

    Albania 162.4

    Latvia 160.5

    Moldova 159.8

    Malta* 154.1

    Serbia 153.4

    Scotland 134.9

    Montenegro 134.7

    England & Wales 131.5

    Spain 116.3

    Romania 113.5

    Portugal 110.8

    North Macedonia 107.3

    Greece 106.1

    Bulgaria 101.9

    Austria 94.8

    France 92.9

    Italy 90

    Belgium 89.7

    Luxembourg 87.8

    Croatia 87.5

    Andorra 78.9

    Ireland 74.4

    Northern Ireland 73.8

    Switzerland 72.9

    Germany 71

    Sweden 70.3

    Cyprus 67

    Denmark 66.8

    Armenia 66.4

    Norway 56.6

    Netherlands 53.9

    Slovenia 53.9

    Finland 43.3

    Iceland 40.7

    Monaco 32.5

    Liechtenstein 30.7

  6. * Overcrowded hospitals
    * Underpaid nurses/staff
    * Cases not being seen to fast enough

    * Understaffed/under-equipped/underpaid Police Force
    * Overcrowded prisons
    * Dangerous fuckers not being locked up
    * Major drug problems on our streets
    * innocent People being attacked on the streets

    * Not enough housing/overpriced housing
    * Record high homelessness

    Am I missing anything else folks? But sure we can’t fix it overnight. :/

  7. This is what happens when the population grows rapidly for 10-15 years but the government builds absolutely nothing during the same period.

    Public infrastructure projects should be booming at the moment, the government have billions in surplus cash and a chance to dramatically improve the country for future generations but they’re all afraid to put their cock on the block in case they end up in the news for blowing budgets like they are with the national children’s hospital.

  8. Probably happening because many court cases have ben delayed with Covid and now they are catching up.

    Didn’t know there were so few women in prison compared to men.

    I have a cour case coming up so if it menas I have a bette chance of getting a suspended sentence or out early on TR it is good news for me – being honest about it.

    Even the Officers say taht prisons are not as bad when they aren’t overcrowded. Mountjoy is much different than it was now that it is all single cells – less trouble – than when there 2 or 3 in cells. It won’t be good if tpeople are being put in cells just on mattresses.

  9. They should be building more bloody prisons then, then this wouldnt happen PLUS we could lock up more of the worst offenders more easily instead of this suspended sentence shite that leads to 200+ convictions being a badge of scrote pride instead.

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