Group set up to address prison overcrowding as inmate numbers reach record

The prison system in Ireland has consistently had more than 4,700 people in it on a daily basis since November, 200 more than the system can accommodate.

A high-level group has been established to examine proposals to ease the growing overcrowding problem in Irish prisons.

The Department of Justice also said research has been commissioned to survey district court judges on their views of community sanctions.