Cork Prison ‘overcrowded’ every day for the last two years

The €45m, purpose-built prison opened on Rathmore Rd in 2017 with a bed capacity of 296 — but has seen a 25% increase in the figure over the last five years. File Picture: Dan Linehan

Overcrowding at Cork Prison is getting worse, with a daily "average in custody" inmate figure above its design capacity for the last two years.

The €45m, purpose-built prison opened on Rathmore Rd in 2017 with a bed capacity of 296 — but has seen a 25% increase in the figure over the last five years.

In 2020, the daily average in-custody figure was 271 inmates. It dropped slightly during the pandemic years to 255 in 2021, and up again to 262 by 2022.

However, it has been rising steadily since — to 306 in 2023 and to 335 in 2024. On Friday, the prison had 352 inmates and was operating at 119% of its capacity.

The prison’s annual committal rates have also increased — from 873 in 2020 to 985 in 2024

The figures were released by the Department of Justice in response to a parliamentary question from Cork North Central Fianna Fáil TD Padraig O’Sullivan.

He cited recent statistics showing a surge in the number of assaults on prison officers nationally — from 70 in 2020 to 110 in 2023 — in parallel with the increased overcrowding, underlining the urgent need for extra prison capacity.

“The more overcrowding there is, the more attacks there are on prison officers, making prisons an unsafe place to work — and that is unacceptable,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Transfers and temporary release

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said the Irish Prison Service (IPS) must accept all people committed by the courts and has no control over those numbers.

“Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, IPS officials make every effort to deal with this, through a combination of inter-prison transfers and structured temporary release,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

Decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case-by-case basis, and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made

A report last June, from the Prison Overcrowding Response Group, led to the approval of a series of actions — including the designing of structured temporary release for suitable prisoners and the increased use of community service. A working group was set up later to consider prison capacity needs up to 2035.

The minister said the Irish Prison Service's budget increased by €79m, or 18%, to €525m in 2025. Its capital budget is €53m this year, an increase of €22.5m on the original allocation, which is focused on bringing on an additional 1,500 prison spaces.

“In recent years, capacity across the prison estate has been increased by in excess of 300 new spaces — with over 100 of these added in the last 12 months and 50 to come on stream very soon,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

The Irish Prison Service also aims to recruit 300 prison officers this year, in addition to the 271 recruited in 2024, with an extra €6.2m provided to fund 130,000 more staff hours in the State’s prisons.

However, Mr O’Sullivan said he wants to see new solutions on increasing prison capacity being brought forward soon and being delivered.

“And whatever is recommended from this working group, the old Cork Prison site needs to be used, one way or another,” he said.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Irish Prison Service said the old Cork Prison building has been unoccupied for almost eight years, is in a poor physical state, and is unsuitable for use in its current form.