Prison overcrowding: Plan to cut 40 days from sentences would have freed 150 inmates

An Irish Prison Service analysis said the measure would lead to the immediate release of 150 people. Picture: iStock

Irish jails were so overcrowded that authorities struggling to find more space proposed cutting 40 days from every prisoner’s sentence in the State.

An Irish Prison Service analysis said the measure would lead to the immediate release of 150 people.

Those affected would have included 24 prisoners convicted of sexual offences, two of homicide offences and 37 of attempts or threats to murder.

Nine were serving sentences for burglary and six for weapons and explosives offences.

The figures, compiled in July 2025, also outlined proposals for a 20-day or 30-day reduction in sentence length for all prisoners.

A 20-day cut would have resulted in the immediate release of 73 prisoners, while a 30-day reduction would have led to 109 releases.

The analysis was prepared as Irish Prison Service director general Caron McCaffrey made repeated pleas for help in managing chronic overcrowding in jails.

A letter from her to the Department of Justice in March 2025 said: “Drastic measures are immediately needed to reduce prison numbers to safer levels.”

The records were released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under freedom of information (FOI) legislation.

Cloverhill operating above capacity

In a separate letter, Ms McCaffrey sought an urgent meeting with the justice department to discuss how to manage overcrowding.

She said Cloverhill remand prison was operating at 124% of capacity, with 91 prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

The prison’s governor had been forced to double up single cells to accommodate two prisoners.

Ms McCaffrey’s letter said: “There are only 20 single cells in the prison that can possibly be doubled leaving aside those on D1, D2 and C1 which would be too dangerous to double up.”

She said the pressures at Cloverhill would normally be managed by transferring prisoners to other jails.

However, all other prisons were also overcrowded, with 5,463 people in custody compared with a bed capacity of 4,672.

She wrote: “Given we will now have to consider accommodating prisoners outside of areas certified by the Minister for use as cells, I really need an urgent meeting … to seek guidance on areas the minister would now like us to designate [for use].”

Department points to prison expansion

Asked about the records, a department spokesperson said justice minister Jim O’Callaghan was “acutely aware” of capacity constraints in Irish prisons.

They said: “[The minister] is pursuing a dual approach to address the issue of capacity by increasing prison spaces and pursuing further measures to support non-custodial sanctions.

“The largest prison expansion programme in the history of the State is currently underway and will deliver over 1,500 new spaces in the coming years.” 

The spokesperson said staff safety was also being supported by improving the personal protective equipment available to prison officers and increasing the maximum sentence for assaulting or threatening to assault a prison officer.