Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 February 2024
29. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners sleeping on mattresses in the prison system at present; the number of prisoners sleeping more than one to a cell; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7784/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals and must accept all people committed by the courts and the prison system is under increasing pressure.
On 16 February 2024, there were 4,783 prisoners in custody, of whom 122 were accommodated on mattresses on cell floors.
While the provision of single cell accommodation is not something that can be guaranteed due to present levels of committals, it is important to note that some people are accommodated in dedicated multi-occupancy cells for reasons other than capacity.
In such cases an assessment is carried out to ensure they are suitable for sharing a cell.
Data from the last Cell Occupancy Census carried out by the Irish Prison Service, published in October 2023, indicates that 2,004 (43%) of people in custody were accommodated in single cell accommodation, while 2,614 (57%) were sharing .
I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service and my Department are committed to providing safe and secure custody for all people committed to prison while ensuring a safe working environment for staff.
Officials in the Irish Prison Service and the Department are continuously working to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage the current capacity issues in our prisons.
