Call for State to expand youth bail supervision scheme to tackle sharp rise in people held in prisons

Extending the successful scheme to women, young men and to vulnerable groups could help address chronic overcrowding in Irish jails, Irish Penal Reform Trust says

New research conducted by the IPRT says the number of people in prison on remand — awaiting trial or sentencing — increased from 518 in July 2016 to 1,122 in June 2026, a rise of 46%.

The State should expand a successful youth bail supervision scheme to other groups tackle the sharp rise in people held in prisons awaiting trial, according to penal reformers.

Extending the system to women, young men and to vulnerable groups could help address chronic overcrowding in Irish jails, estimated to be sixth worst of 44 European countries.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) is also calling for "therapeutic bail" — where an individual gets bail on condition they get mental health or addiction help.

New research conducted by the IPRT says the number of people in prison on remand — awaiting trial or sentencing — increased from 518 in July 2016 to 1,122 in June 2026, a rise of 46%.

In June 2026, the remand population made up 19% of the prison population, compared to 13% a decade years ago.

“IPRT’s report shows a system under severe strain, failing to meet the needs of those who come before the courts,” Niamh McCormack, the group’s legal and public affairs manager and report author, said.

“While the evidence indicates that courts grant bail in the majority of cases where an application is made, IPRT is seriously concerned by the disproportionate use of remand custody for people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, addiction and poverty for minor offences.” 

She said this was “particularly concerning” given the report’s findings that behaviour associated with acute mental health crisis and addiction was being criminalised.

The report, entitled ‘Rethinking Remand’, cites the inspector of prisons Mark Kelly describing Cloverhill as acting as a “social safety net” for people who are homeless, have mental health difficulties and experiencing addiction.

The report points out many of these groups, as well as some women, cannot afford to pay even cash bail as low as €30.

Researchers said the bail supervision scheme, set up for juvenile offenders, has been evaluated as a success and was extended from Dublin to Cork and Limerick.

The report calls on the Government to expand the scheme to women “as a matter of priority”, and then to young adults and other marginalised groups, such as those with serious mental illness.

It also recommends establishing therapeutic bail on a statutory basis.

It says the closure of psychiatric institutions corresponded with a rise in imprisonment for people with psychiatric conditions.

It quotes research which found almost 8% of men on remand had psychosis, twice the level as men serving prison sentences.

The report said the high-level taskforce, which reported in 2022, found a disproportionate number of acutely psychotic people were homeless and impoverished and had difficulty meeting bail conditions — such as cash bail and having an approved address — and experience “frequent and possibly prolonged periods in custody, even when charged with relatively minor offences”.

It said, in 2021, the Mental Health Commission also highlighted a lack of formal legal mechanisms for court diversion, the absence of mental health courts and inadequate investment in psychiatric services.