Ireland to have fourth largest jail population in EU
The number held in prison is currently well below the average of the 15 EU states, at 85 per 100,000 people. However, that number, taking into account population increases, will rise to around 110 when new facilities are built at Spike Island in Cork and in Dublin. Only Britain, Portugal and Spain have a higher rate of incarceration.
The justice minister plans to build a e100m jail for over 1,000 inmates to replace the four on the Mountjoy complex in Dublin and an 800-inmate facility to replace Fort Mitchell and Cork.
He wants a bridge across the sea to the island, at an estimated cost of €20m.He announced his plans in an RTÉ interview broadcast on Tuesday. Expected population increases and a review of drug trafficking legislation to limit judicial discretion on mandatory sentences are being cited as reasons for the huge increase in numbers.
Only a handful of the hundreds of drug traffickers caught with more €12,600 worth of narcotics have received the mandatory 10 year sentence. However, legal experts said the average sentence for the offence has increased substantially as judges, while exercising discretion, do take into account the legislation.
Critics of mandatory sentences believe judges must have discretion and, further, that the legislation is inherently unfair as it does not differentiate between types of drugs, such as heroin and cannabis. They argue that smaller players are more likely to be caught, as opposed to major traffickers as the law intended. Mr McDowell says the prison population will increase from 3,300 to 4,500. The Irish Penal Reform Trust believes the plans are outdated and shortsighted, that increasing prison places has been shown internationally to be a “dismal failure”.
In the US, many states are rolling back on the policy as it has no effect on crime rates, the Trust’s director, Rick Lines, argued.
New Zealand has a similar population to Ireland, a similar crime rate, including murders, drugs offences and violent attacks. Yet, it has almost twice the number of prisoners.
Interpol collects statistics on crime rates across the world.
While Ireland’s overall crime rate is around average for developed countries, the number of murders is low in comparison. In 2002, Scotland, with a population of 5m, experienced 127 homicides, compared to just 59 here.
