The Inspector of Prisons has described conditions in Irish prisons as "inhuman and degrading" and said overcrowding has contributed to the increase in deaths in custody.
Over 5,660 people are being detained in overcrowded prisons today, a crisis which the Inspector said can only be resolved by "courageous action at political level".
Every closed prison in the country is overcrowded with both female prisons in Dublin and Limerick operating at over 150% capacity.
Mountjoy male prison is at 130%, while both Portlaoise and Cork prisons are at 124%.
The average rate of overcrowding across the country's 14 prisons is 121%, with hundreds of prisoners sleeping on mattresses on floors.
At the time of its inspection in the Midlands Prison last year, the inspectorate criticised the fact that 31 people were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. However, that number has more than tripled today to 97.
The Chief Inspector Mark Kelly said the Government needs to impose "an enforceable ceiling" on the number of people who can be held safely in each prison.
Successive ministers for justice have repeatedly promised that 1,500 additional prison spaces will be built in the coming years, but Mr Kelly said that it is "no longer credible" to respond to this crisis "with rote answers referencing future increases" in prison capacity.
"No comparable jurisdiction has ever succeeded in building itself out of overcrowding," the Chief Inspector said.
Thirty-one people died in custody last year, the highest number since the inspectorate commenced recording figures in 2012.
Mr Kelly said in his annual report that "there is no doubt that the pressures created by overcrowding have played their part in generating this increase".
Read more: Prison overcrowding crisis has deepened further this year - POA
Investigators have also identified poor risk assessment processes on committal that have contributed to tragic outcomes, as well as areas for improvement in the health care supervision of prisoners suspected of internally concealing contraband.
The Office of the Inspector of Prisons carried out four unannounced prison inspections last year at the Midlands Prison, Limerick Women's Prison, Arbour Hill and a follow up inspection at Clover Hill.
It also completed reports into Mountjoy Men’s Prison, the Training Unit, Cork Prison, Cloverhill Prison and the Dóchas Centre which are currently with the minister.
The Inspector also criticised the Department of Justice for failing to publish previous reports in a timely manner.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said the report paints a bleak picture of prison conditions in 2024 and is increasingly concerned that many of the issues outlined as being of urgent concern, have deteriorated further this year due to the severe overcrowding crisis.
The IPRT also said it is particularly alarmed at the record number of deaths in prison.
IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady said people in prison have to share with up to three other people in a small, restricted space, in many cases taken up by bunk beds, a mattress on the floor as well as an unpartitioned toilet, some without lids.
"Even for one person these living spaces would be cramped and uncomfortable but the report points to some people having to eat their meals standing up or sitting on the floor, sometimes with no access to basic amenities like pillows or clothes-washing facilities," Ms Brady said.
She also described as "unacceptable" that in Cloverhill, the remand prison, limited time is allocated to showering, and this combined with a broken shower and overcrowding has meant that people were unable to wash themselves.
The Prison Officers Association said it met the Minister for Justice today to express its concerns about overcrowding and the related issues of drugs, death and violence in prison on a daily basis.
Prison officers have described the conditions for staff and inmates as "horrendous" and said the current proposed building programme is not matching the needs of a modern prison service.
Over 560 prisoners are currently on temporary release.
General Secretary Karl Dalton said that even if all 1,500 new spaces due to be completed in 2031 were provided tomorrow, the prisons would still be overcrowded.
