Cork prison hit hardest as inmate assaults spike 40% amid severe overcrowding

Photos taken after a violent incident in Cork Prison. 

Levels of violence in prisonsare surging, with demands from prison officers for sprays, batons, and body-worn cameras to protect themselves and maintain order in packed jails.

Assaults by inmates on prison officers and violence between prisoners are both up about 40%, with Cork Prison experiencing the highest levels of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults in 2025.

The violence across prisons is accompanied by huge increases in the seizures of weapons and drugs, all occurring in an escalating overcrowding crisis.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) warns unless the Government takes radical action — including urgently creating significantly more spaces — there could be extreme outcomes.

Speaking at its annual conference in Kilkenny, deputy general secretary Gabriel Keaveny said: “I’m 35 years in this job and I’ve never seen prisons so chronically overcrowded. 

"We are nearly at 6,000 prisoners, and for our members to manage that is nigh-on impossible, and the levels of violence, the levels of drug taking, associated with overcrowding — it is just unsustainable."

He added: “Something is going to happen and it will be too late then.” 

Figures provided by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) at the conference show the total number of staff assaults has jumped 40% — from 219 in 2024 to 306 in 2025. This includes:

• Direct physical assaults on prison officers by inmates: up 23%, from 107 to 132;
• Aggressive/threatening incidents: up 161%, from 23 to 60;
• Physical interventions: up 28%, from 89 to 114. 

In addition, there has been a 37% rise in prisoner-on-prisoner violence, from 874 in 2024 to 1,197 in 2025.

Karl Dalton, POA general secretary, said with overcrowding, “the gangs take over, the violence takes over” and there is a huge impact on the availability of structured activities for inmates.

Cork Prison had the highest number of prisoner-on-prisoner attacks in 2025, with 227 incidents, compared to 135 in 2024, up 68%. Picture: Dan Linehan

“We’ve had incidents of staff being cut with blades, staff being physically assaulted — punches, kicks — as well as ongoing daily threats," he said. "So staff are working in this overcrowding crisis in this heightened state of alert all the time.

"We are currently going through an endless cycle of violence, drugs, intimidation, threats and assaults, and staff having to intervene in prisoner assaults, so everything is more stressful."

He said they were pushing for members to have body-worn cameras and for officers to have incapacitant sprays and batons to protect against serious injury.

The IPS is piloting the batons in the summer in Cork Prison, and body-worn cameras are being piloted later this year in Mountjoy.

Government legislation is expected to pass the Oireachtas by the summer, allowing for a trial of sprays.

Asked if there was a fear of an officer being fatally injured, Mr Dalton said: “Hopefully not, we are going to be putting pressure on the minister — it cannot continue, the membership can’t be put at this kind of risk.” 

The IPS figures show Cork Prison had the highest number of prisoner-on-prisoner attacks in 2025, with 227 incidents, compared to 135 in 2024, up 68%.

Cloverhill Remand Prison had 227 incidents in 2025, down from 262 in 2024, while incidents in Mountjoy rose 144%, from 75 to 183. Incidents in both Wheatfield and Dochas Women’s Prison doubled — to 126 and 88 respectively.

Mountjoy saw the biggest increase in direct assaults on prison officers, from 27 to 36, followed by Limerick, increasing from five to 23.

The IPS also reports seizures of contraband are up, with a 70% rise in weapons seizures (from 260 to 441); a 28% increase in drug seizures (1,035 to 1,325) and a 33% rise in phone seizures (1,236 to 1,647).