The Irish prison system is in crisis as overcrowding continues to spiral out of control, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gannon said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Irish Penal Reform Trust said this morning that the Irish prison system is overstretched, overwhelmed and inhumane. We\u2019ve known this for some time now, and the situation continues to degrade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that our prison system is in crisis – the situation has deteriorated since June of this year, when the prison population exceeded 5,000 people for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201c5,700 people are currently in prison – more than 600 are sleeping on mattresses on the floor, a 300% increase in a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost two thirds of prisoners have to use the toilet in front of another person, while those sleeping on the floor face hygiene issues due to their proximity to cell toilets – this is blatantly inhumane.<\/p>\n
\u201cExpanding prison capacity will not fix systemic failures in Ireland\u2019s justice system – short custodial sentences don\u2019t reduce reoffending, but properly resourced youth diversion schemes and community sanctions do.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vast majority of people sent to prison are serving sentences of 12 months or less, far too many committals are for petty crime, and 1 in 5 people in prison are on remand. The current system is not keeping communities safe, it is warehousing people.<\/p>\n
\u201c2024 saw a 55% increase in deaths in Irish prisons \u2013 this is not a crisis we can build our way out of.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister for Justice has proposed expanding community-based sanctions, which is welcome, but it means nothing without major investment in the Probation Service, proper judicial data on compliance, and feedback loops on what works.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should also be putting in place bail support schemes for adults, to reduce unnecessary remand and help people stay engaged with services, work, and family while awaiting trial.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear that a step change is needed in how we view our penal system – the Minister for Justice must take a different approach to the future of our prisons.\u201d<\/p>\n
December 2nd, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Irish prison system is in crisis as overcrowding continues to spiral out of control, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon said: \u201cThe Irish Penal Reform Trust said this morning that the Irish prison system is overstretched, overwhelmed and inhumane. We\u2019ve known this for some time now, and the situation continues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11685,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[316,411,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gary-gannon","category-justice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n