Justice ministers have not 'grasped the nettle' of prison overcrowding crisis, says Inspector of Prisons

The report details inspections of Mountjoy Prison, Wheatfield Prison, and Castlerea Prison, including findings of worsening overcrowding. File picture: Dan Linehan

The Inspector of Prisons has said he has “yet to see a minister grasp the nettle” of resolving the prison overcrowding crisis.

In his foreword to his 2025 annual report, Mark Kelly said that he had met all three ministers of justice since his appointment in 2022.

They are former ministers Helen McEntee and Simon Harris and current minister Jim O’Callaghan.

“I have had the opportunity to raise the issue [overcrowding crisis] in face-to-face meetings with every politician who has held the position of minister for justice over the past three years,” Mr Kelly said.

“However, we have yet to see a minister grasp the nettle of resolving the crisis engulfing the prison system with the requisite degree of bold political action.”

The annual report, sent to the Department of Justice on March 31, was published by the department on Thursday.

The foreword said the population in Irish prisons was “inching ever closer to the grim milestone of 6,000 people” — for a maximum bed capacity of 4,736.

At the time of writing the foreword, he said that the population stood at 5,909, including 599 sleeping on mattresses on floors of overcrowded cells next to “unpartitioned toilets”.

He said this was a “national disgrace” and that his view was amplified at the end of 2025 when the Council of Europe committee on torture said that the “inhuman and degrading conditions in our prisons could easily lead to the European Court of Human Rights finding Ireland to be in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights”.

Mr Kelly said that his office enjoyed the “usual excellent level of co-operation” from the Irish Prison Service (IPS) up until last November, when an inspection at Limerick Prison was “marred by attempts to impose constraints” on his office, by insisting on escorts of inspectors by prison officers.

As detailed in the report elsewhere, this led to a suspension of an ongoing thematic inspection of older prisoners and a breakdown in relationships between Mr Kelly and Caron McCaffrey, the director general of the IPS.

The report recorded a significant decrease in the number of deaths in custody, with 14 recorded in 2025 compared to a record 31 in 2024.

But Mr Kelly said deaths have increased this year, with 18 as of Thursday.

Prison inspections

The report details inspections of Mountjoy Prison, Wheatfield Prison, and Castlerea Prison, including findings of worsening overcrowding.

Wheatfield Prison was also experiencing high levels of violence and cells in standard landings were described as “grubby”.

In Castlerea Prison, the A Division was “severely affected” by overcrowding with just nine showers for 239 men.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust executive director Saoirse Brady said the report presented an “increasingly stark” picture of the prison system.

“Severe and worsening overcrowding has pushed the population close to 6,000 for a capacity of under 4,800, leaving hundreds of people sleeping on mattresses on floors beside unpartitioned toilets — conditions that are clearly inhuman and degrading,” she said.

In a statement, the IPS said it recognised the important role independent oversight plays in “driving continuous improvement” across the prison system.

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On escorts, the IPS said the measures were intended “solely to support safety” and “did not impede or restrict” the inspectorate.

“At all times during the thematic inspections, [inspectorate] staff were facilitated in accessing prisons, prisoners, staff, operational areas, and documentation,” the statement said.

• Cormac O'Keeffe is Security Correspondent.