Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
668. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice and Equality her policy in relation to more than one prisoner being held in any one cell at any time; the number of prisoners being held in cells with more than one prisoner in them during the past two months; her plans to eliminate this practice; the timescale to achieve this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34501/14]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that on 1st July 2014, 1,978 prisoners were accommodated in single cells which accounted for almost 50% of all prisoners in custody on that date (4,003). In addition, there were 784 cells which accommodated 2 prisoners, 111 cells which accommodated 3 prisoners and 31 cells which accommodated 4 or more prisoners. As the Deputy will appreciate the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals. The Deputy will appreciate, that my officials are concentrating on aligning our prisoner population numbers with the Inspector of Prisons' recommendations in those prisons with the highest levels of over-crowding, namely Cork Prison, Limerick Prison and the Dóchas Centre.
It is clear, given the current number of prisoners in custody, that the Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide single cell accommodation to all prisoners at this time. Single cell occupancy across the system would result in a bed capacity of approximately 3,200 and would not be possible to achieve without releasing sizeable numbers of prisoners considered to represent a threat to public safety. It should be borne in mind that in certain cases prisoners are housed together for reasons other than lack of capacity. Family members and friends often elect or are assigned a shared cell. Shared cell accommodation can be very beneficial from a management point of view particularly for those who are vulnerable and at risk of self-harm.
