Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2026
10. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of Irish citizens and non-Irish citizens who are currently prisoners within the Irish prison system; and a breakdown of all prisoners' nationalities. [69742/26]
View answerThis question is in the context of the continuing pressure we face on prison accommodation.
I thank Deputy Lawlor for his question. Earlier, I told Deputy Gould that, at present, Irish prison capacity was at 114%. The number I gave a few months ago was 5,444 or around that, so there is overcrowding in the Irish prison system. It is also the case that I have put in place measures to remove from Ireland persons from other jurisdictions who can, near the end of their prison sentences, be deported back to the countries from which they came.
As regards the Deputy's question on nationality, the Irish Prison Service has advised me that while it records the nationality of people in custody, this information is self-reported and the service does not routinely record citizenship. Accordingly, the requested information in respect of Irish and non-Irish citizens is not available, but I can confirm that, on 30 September, there were 5,480 prisoners in custody. Of those, a total of 4,477 self-reported as Irish nationals. This means about 82% of the total number in custody self-reported as Irish nationals and approximately 18% as nationals of other countries.
The approximate figure of 18% of the total population who self-identified as non-Irish nationals is in line with the previously reported figure of approximately 18% from November 2025. This reported proportion of non-Irish nationals in prison has increased by approximately three percentage points since November 2019. It is important to put this in the context of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, estimates. The number of non-Irish nationals as a percentage of the overall population rose by nearly four percentage points and is now around 16.3% as of August 2026. There is a correlation between them, and obviously the age cohorts may explain why there is a slight difference. However, I will come back in the supplementary with what I am going to do with a unique identifier, which will give us more specific information.
I thank the Minister. It is a bit strange that the Government, the Department or the Irish Prison Service does not know the nationality of the prisoners within the curtilage of the prisons. This is not about deporting all foreign prisoners, but where appropriate and lawful, serving a sentence in a prisoner's home country would reduce the pressure on Irish prison places and would certainly improve our situation. Prisoners may also have better access to support services in their home countries. The benefits to the Irish situation would be clear.
How many prisoners have been transferred out of the Irish prison system under international prisoner transfer agreements in each of the past five years, if the Minister has indicative figures on that? Are there barriers preventing a greater number of prison transfers, including prisoner consent, foreign state co-operation, legal challenges or administrative delays? These are important questions in the context of the crisis we face in our prison system, in that we could essentially have prisoners serve their sentences, where possible, in their home countries.
I am just looking for the actual figure, which I may not have in front of me, but already this year, I have deported a significant number of prisoners who are non-nationals and can be sent back to their countries of origin.
I do not have the statistics and so I am hesitant about giving them to the Deputy but it is certainly over 100 or 150 or so. If people who have been convicted of offences, which are obviously serious offences because they are in prison, are coming near the end of their sentence, I will avail of the opportunity to move them out of Ireland and serve them with an exclusion order. I do not have the exact statistics for the Deputy but I can come back to him in respect of that. The data is fairly accurate because it is self-reported data. While the Prison Service records the nationality of people in custody, this information is self-reported. I would have thought it was relatively accurate. The criminal justice system will benefit from more data. That is why I am moving through with the introduction of a unique identifier that will get us lots of data across the criminal justice network.
The Prison Service would certainly benefit from more data. Has the Minister personally conducted an assessment on how many prison places could potentially be freed up through a more active use of prisoner transfer or repatriation agreements? There are obviously benefits to a system that is at 114% capacity. There is serious pressure on our prison system that brings so many difficulties and problems for the prisoners who are serving their sentences. There is also the cost to the State. One of the latest figures was €103,000 to house a prisoner in the Irish prison system. A transfer programme could financially benefit the prison system and provide a better service for the State and the people who are incarcerated. I believe we need to look at it more seriously. It would benefit the prison system, the prisoners and indeed the prisoners who would be repatriated.
I assure the Deputy that it is happening. I have given instructions to the Prison Service and An Garda Síochána, which effects the deportations, when people are coming towards the end of their sentence, although it will not apply or be appropriate in every situation for capacity to be created where appropriate through removing people from the prison system. The law was amended earlier this year in the miscellaneous provisions Bill to give an opportunity to extend that to a greater time towards the end of their sentence. There is also the other provision, of which the Deputy is aware, where prisoners can apply to have their sentence served in another jurisdiction, generally in their home jurisdiction. In most instances, I would permit and facilitate that but not always because sometimes it is appropriate and important, notwithstanding the nationality of prisoners, particularly somebody convicted of murder and who has a life sentence imposed on them, that they serve their sentence here and are under supervision of the Irish Probation Service and Prison Service.
The Minister is absolutely correct.
Táimid críochnaithe.
