Prison overcrowding needs ‘political courage’
The chief inspector of prisons has said that only “courageous action at political level” can now resolve what he described as “the overcrowding crisis” engulfing the Irish Prison Service (IPS).
Writing in , Mark Kelly said that such action included agreeing to impose an enforceable ceiling on the number of people who can be safely held in each prison.
Describing overcrowding as a “scourge”, he said that many prisoners were being held in “inhuman and degrading” conditions.
“It is no longer credible to respond to these concerns with rote answers referencing future increases in the capacity of the prison estate,” Kelly stated.
Deaths hit a high
The office, which investigates deaths of prisoners, reported 31 deaths in 2024 – the highest in any year since the inspectorate first took on the task in 2012.
Of the total, 19 were deaths in custody, four in hospital, and seven occurred within one month of temporary release.
“There is no doubt that the pressures created by overcrowding have played their part in generating this increase,” Kelly stated.
He added that investigators had also identified poor risk-assessment processes on committal that had contributed to tragic outcomes, as well as areas for improvement in the health-care supervision of prisoners suspected of internally concealing contraband.
Kelly also pointed out that the annual report was submitted to the Minister for Justice before the statutory deadline of 31 March 2025.
He noted that the office's previous two annual reports had also been submitted ahead of the deadline, but had not been published until 13 October 2023 and 28 February 2025, respectively.
‘Degrading’ conditions at Cloverhill
The report shows that, during. 2024, four inspections were completed – at Arbour Hill Prison, Midlands Prison, Limerick Women’s Prison, and Cloverhill Prison.
An inspection found that the “vast majority” of people were living in degrading conditions at Cloverhill.
“This is of grave concern to the inspectorate and has been formally raised by the inspectorate to the Minister for Justice on two occasions,” the report said.
It added that the prison was holding men with serious mental illness and immigration detainees, who should not be accommodated in the facility.