Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 8 October 2025
277. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people sleeping on mattresses in prisons, broken down by prison, in tabular form, between 2020 and 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54123/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Irish Prison Service 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.
Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, officials in the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through Temporary Release. Decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case by case basis and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made.
I can advise the Deputy that the information requested is not available in the format sought. The Irish Prison Service publishes the numbers in custody including those required to sleep on mattresses daily. This can be found at: www.irishprisons.ie/information-centre/statistics-information/2015-daily-prisoner-population/.
Table 1 attached provides the number of prisoners sleeping on mattresses on 6 October (only) each year between 2020 and 2025.
Table 2 attached provides the average number of individuals sleeping on mattresses, broken down by prison, between 2020 and 2025.
I would like to assure the Deputy that I am acutely aware of the capacity constraints in our prisons and the challenges faced by those who work and live in our prisons as a result.
Since 2022, capacity across the prison estate has been increased by 380 new spaces.
Budget 2026 has delivered a record investment of €67.9 million in capital funding to deliver on a plan to add 1,595 additional prison spaces by 2031, with a masterplan for the Thornton campus to be developed in 2026.
An exemption under the Infrastructure Guidelines will allow for delivery of 960 new places to be accelerated and this is expected to speed up delivery timelines by 12 to 18 months. This includes a new prison on the site of the old Cork prison, a new block in Wheatfield, an additional block extension at Midlands prison, and additional spaces at Castlerea, Mountjoy and the Dóchas Centre.
