Overcrowding ‘predominant’ in prison system

A new report on the Irish prison system has branded the policies of successive governments on imprisonment as “bankrupt”.

The study by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice claims that overcrowding is the predominant characteristic of Irish prisons and the most significant indicator of the failure of such policy.

In a hard-hitting report, the organisation makes 15 recommendations including calls for the abandonment of plans to build large-scale prisons such as Thornton Hall in Dublin, in favour of smaller detention centres.