Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2026
130. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the plans the Government, and his Department have to improve capacity within the country's prisons, and in particular the Midlands and Portlaoise prisons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35450/26]
View answerI am acutely aware of the capacity constraints in our prisons and the resulting challenges faced by those who work and live in our prisons. The Irish Prison Service (IPS) must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts and has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.
I am pursuing a dual approach to address the issue of prison overcrowding by both increasing prison capacity and pursuing further measures to support increased use of non-custodial sanctions.
Since 2024, 232 spaces have been constructed across the Prison Estate, with 126 delivered in 2024 and 106 in 2025. There are plans to build another 65 spaces in 2026.
On conclusion of the NDP Review in July 2025, I secured a record capital investment of €528 million from 2026 to 2030, of which €495 million is being invested in building projects to further increase capacity, with an overall target of delivering over 1,500 spaces by 2031.
A multi-year building programme is progressing at several key sites across the prison estate and will include two separate projects in the Midlands prison: the Circular Landings project will provide over 100 additional spaces by 2027, and a new additional wing will provide up to 180 spaces by 2030. It will also include a project at Portlaoise to deliver 40 additional spaces by 2027. Additionally, the programme includes a large extension to the existing Cork Prison on the site of the old, decommissioned Cork Prison, and a new block in Wheatfield. This is in addition to spaces at Castlerea, Mountjoy and the Dóchas Centre, where an extension to Rowan House is expected to accommodate 50 women prisoners. The record capital allocation will also allow for work to start to plan and develop a new prison on the Thornton site in North County Dublin. A master plan for the site will be developed in 2026.
I have also sought and secured an exemption from the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for 6 projects (960 prison spaces) to move straight to Approval Gate 2 – Pre Tender Approval of the Infrastructure Guidelines, a measure which is expected to speed up the delivery of these projects by 12 to 18 months.
