The number of Irish people serving prison sentences overseas has more than doubled in the past three years, to 1,054 known cases and they often endure extreme hardship.

Squalid, cramped conditions in Peruvian prisons see inmates forced to sleep in toilets and at risk of contracting diseases such as HIV, campaigners have claimed.

The mother of an Irish model being held on suspicion of drug trafficking in Peru has spoken of her distress.