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%.

“Rising prisoner numbers have placed enormous strain on the prison system across the board, from accommodation to the provision of services including work training/education, healthcare and drug treatment services,” he said.

“During this period, as a result of the increase in the prison population, a number of prisons are operating well in excess of their stated bed capacities.”

He also noted that there appears to be a levelling-off in the increase in prisoner numbers committed annually, with 2011 seeing only a 0.8% increase on the previous year. This compares to increases of 13.6%, 13.8% and 11.4% for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

In a written Dáil response to Sinn Féin’s Jonathan O’Brien, Mr Shatter said: “The Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals.” He said that this year and in the first quarter of 2013, priority will be given to reducing overcrowding in Mountjoy, Cork, and Limerick prisons and the Dóchas Centre.

Mr Shatter said he has received a detailed business case from the prison service, recommending the replacement of Cork Prison with a new facility on the adjacent car park and green-field site.