System ‘strained’ as prison population rises 32%

Justice Minister Alan Shatter has admitted that a 32% increase in the country’s jail population in the past five years has “placed enormous strain on the prison system”.

Figures supplied by Mr Shatter show that the number of prisoners increased from 3,321 in 2007 to 4,389 in 2011.

The total number of committals to prison also rose sharply in the same period, from 11,934 in 2007 to 17,318 in 2011 — an increase of more than 45%. Mr Shatter said the size of the prison population has since increased from 4,389 at the end of 2011 to 4,493 in June 2012 — an increase of 2.3%.