Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020
363. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons, men and women, respectively currently incarcerated; the extent to which cells are shared by two, three or more prisoners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42818/20]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that figures in relation to cell occupancy levels and in-cell sanitation are collated by the Prison Service Statistics Unit and are published in the IPS website. This information can be found in the Information Centre section under "Statistics and Information - Census Reports" at www.irishprisons.ie.
According to the latest available report (dated 20 Oct 2020) there were:
3,768 prisoners in custody -
- 1,964 (52%) cells accommodated one prisoner (1,895 Male) (69 Female).
- 749 cells accommodated two prisoners (1,498 prisoners) (1,416 Male, 82 Female).
- 79 cells accommodated three prisoners (237 prisoners) (234 Male, 3 Female).
- 22 cells accommodated four or more prisoners (69 male prisoners).
Given the current number of prisoners in custody the Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide single cell accommodation to all prisoners. Single cell occupancy across the system would result in a bed capacity of less than 3,000 and would not be possible to achieve without releasing sizeable numbers of prisoners considered to represent a threat to public safety.
I am further advised that in some 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.
