The Prison Officers Association (POA) has said the overcrowding crisis within Irish prisons has deepened even further this year.
The service has published its annual report for 2024, in which it highlights the urgent need for expanded capacity amid mounting challenges that it faces.
According to the report, last year saw 766 more people taken into custody than the previous year - a rise of almost 10%.
The IPS said that of these, 77% of sentence committals were for 12 months or less.
Karl Dalton, General Secretary of the POA, said prison numbers are already exceeding the number of new spaces being built.
He said: "One of the biggest tools the prison officer has for safety is rehabilitation and there's lots of staff trained but unfortunately, when you're that overcrowded, there's nowhere, no school spaces, no workshop spaces. So that leads the onslaught of drugs."
He said there were a lot of weapons and drugs coming into prison and control of the drug trade was bringing an increase is the levels of violence, an issue raised at the recent POA conference.
"Our president spoke at the increase in violence, prisoner on prisoner, prisoner on staff, and all the violence that the members have to deal on a daily basis," he said.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust said it was deeply concerned at the sharp rise in committals, ongoing overcrowding and the spiralling cost of keeping someone in prison.
"From 2023 to 2024 the cost of keeping somebody in prison for a year has risen by 11% so it nearly costs 100,000 euro to keep a person in prison for a year," its Executive Director Saoirse Brady said.
She said the cost of overseeing someone on probation would be much less.
Whilst the report highlighted large numbers of people sleeping on mattresses, she said today that those figures are even higher.
Ms Brady said: "426 people are sleeping on a mattress on the floor, and in Cork prison, it's one in five people are sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
"That's really concerning, and that does constitute a breach of dignity and people's basic, fundamental human rights.
"We were in Mountjoy Prison recently and we saw what it was like to have a mattress on the floor. There is no other room in that cell to move, and you're sleeping with your head touching a toilet that somebody else might have to use in the middle of the night. Under no circumstances is that acceptable."
She said the rise in immigration committals was also concerning.
Ms Brady said: "We’ve seen that skyrocket in terms of people going to prison for that. We saw 40 people being held in prison in 2024 prior to extradition or in deportation orders."
"And we would say that that's administrative detention. And you know, those are people who haven't committed any offense, haven't come before a court and been sentenced, yet they're being held with people who have, and that, again, from a human rights perspective, is unacceptable," she added.
Prison capacity stretched 'far beyond its limits' - IPS
Earlier, the head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) warned that the system's capacity has been stretched "far beyond its limits".
The service said that in order to meet demand, it accelerated infrastructure investment.
It noted that €525m was allocated to it in Budget 2025, as well as funding under the National Development Plan which will fund major infrastructure projects at "Castlerea, Cloverhill, Mountjoy, Portlaoise, Wheatfield, Midlands, Dóchas Centre, and the former Cork prison site".
The report also shows that there was a 7.8% increase in the daily average number of prisoners in custody last year, in comparison to the previous year (4,582 in 2023 to 4,941 in 2024).
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156% increase in prisoners sleeping on mattresses
At the end of last year, the prison population reached 5,001 with 213 prisoners sleeping on mattresses, a 156% from the previous year.
IPS Director General Caron McCaffrey said the past two years have demanded a great deal from the IPS and "perhaps more than any point in recent memory".
"We've faced a steep rise in committals, longer sentences, and population levels that have stretched our capacity far beyond its limits.
"These pressures have not only tested our operations, they've tested those who work and live in our prisons. But even under strain, we’ve kept our focus: investing in modern infrastructure and supporting our staff.
"Our work is not just about managing numbers, it’s about transforming lives, promoting rehabilitation, reduce re-offending and help individuals lead law-abiding lives in turn creating safer communities."
Read more:
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Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said that despite significant challenges, the report highlights the dedication of prison staff and the progress made in rehabilitation, education, and care.
"I commend the staff and management of the prison service for their commitment to dignity and safety across the prison estate.
"As Minister for Justice, I will continue working with the prison service to deliver vital infrastructure and ensure that our prison system remains fit for purpose, grounded in fairness, security, and meaningful reintegration," he added.
