Some prisoners with a disability feel they are "punished" simply for their condition, while others report they are bullied by fellow inmates.

All too often people with complex and challenging needs end up in prison because it is the only service with no waiting list, a mental health expert has said.

The man was described as having filthy feet and a rare nail disease not seen in Ireland in decades.

A new report from the Irish Penal Reform Trust has raised concerns about the scale of overcrowding in many facilities.

A radical overhaul of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) aims to improve staff safety and tackle overcrowding in Irish prisons.

There are fresh concerns about overcrowding in Irish prisons, with 45 inmates on average having slept on mattresses every night so far this year.

The number of people being sentenced to prison – in the main for relatively short sentences – needs to be “urgently reduced” before overcrowding levels become “unsustainable”, penal reformers have said.

A new dedicated immigration facility at Dublin Airport is due to open in the coming months.

A group representing the families of murder and manslaughter victims has called on the Government to bring about changes that would mean killers are not eligible for parole until their minimum sentence has been served.

The number of people being sent to prison has halved in the last three years due to a massive reduction in the jailing of fine defaulters.

Penal reformers have welcomed the massive drop in people being jailed for non-payment of court fines — but are concerned at the rise in prison numbers caused by more committals for non-fine offences.

Prison and probation bosses will go to tender soon for the construction of a “step-down” facility for female offenders.

Judges who send people to prison for less than a year should be forced to explain their reasons why.

Reducing barriers to the labour market for those leaving prison would assist employers to find new talent and help cut reoffending, a conference has heard.

A new national advocacy strategy for children with a parent in prison is needed so their lives are not negatively impacted in the longer term, according to a number of leading support organisations.

Children may have had no fresh air for over a week while being separated from others at Oberstown detention centre, inspectors have found.

Children may have had no fresh air for over a week while being separated from others at Oberstown detention centre, inspectors have found.

A lack of mental health services in Irish prisons is being raised at the UN in Geneva today.

The number of fine defaulters being jailed has halved in the first three months of this year, according to official figures.

From today young offenders in Ireland will no longer be sent to adult prisons.

The number of people being jailed has reached its lowest level since 2008 after a major drop in committals last year, figures show.

The Kinahan-Hutch feud is suspected of fueling a massive rise in prisoners in Mountjoy Jail seeking solitary confinement for their own protection.

There have been calls for the Government to take a fresh look at the effectiveness of sending people to prison after a new report showed almost half of prison inmates had re-offended within three years.

Record jailing of fine defaulters drove the number of people sent to prison to their highest ever levels last year.

Recorded reoffending rates among burglars released from prison have jumped, despite an overall reduction in criminals reoffending.

Penal system reformers have praised the construction of a new Cork prison — but are concerned about its increased capacity and plans to double up cells.

There were almost 9,000 committals to prison last year for failure to pay fines — almost five years after laws were enacted making imprisonment for defaulting a "last resort".

Cultural problems in child detention centres and the proper resourcing of inspection agencies are among a range of issues that need to be tackled, according to a new report.

Penal reformers have welcomed a dramatic cut in the number of prisoners locked up in their cells for most of the day, but questioned how long they are held in such conditions.