Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Ceist:10. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Justice if there are figures on prison capacity and overcrowding over the past 12 months. [8221/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 22 February 2024
Ceisteanna (10)
Freagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)
I want to get a sense of the state of prison figures, prison capacity and overcrowding currently evident within the system.
I thank Deputy Ó Ríordáin for raising this important matter. Regarding the figures on prison capacity and overcrowding over the past 12 months, I can inform the Deputy that the courts committed 7,946 people to prison in 2023. This represents an increase of 13% on the equivalent figure of 7,043 in 2022 and 30% on the 2021 figure of 6,133. The overall daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2023 was 4,583. Overall, this represents an 11% increase when compared to 2022 and is 15.4% higher than the pre-Covid benchmark.
On 16 February 2024, there were 4,783 people in prison or 106% of overall capacity. Of these 950, or 19.8%, were remanded in custody awaiting trial for serious offences where bail had been refused by the courts. Over the course of 2023, a total of 3,271 were remanded in custody awaiting trial, an increase of 21% on 2022. From December 2022 to December 2023, there was also a 10.7% increase in sentenced prisoners, with a notable increase in the numbers serving sentences for robbery, extortion and hijacking offences; attempts to murder; assaults and related offences; dangerous or negligent acts; and sexual offences.
As the Deputy is aware, sentencing is solely a matter for the trial judge, having heard all of the circumstances of a case. It will be understood that the Irish Prison Service is obliged to accept custody of all those committed by the courts. The Irish Prison Service is a progressive service with a strong commitment to upholding human rights. However, in the context of current trends, its mission to provide safe and secure custody, dignity of care and rehabilitation to prisoners in order to make communities safer is increasingly challenging. The Irish Prison Service has set out a range of objectives in its 2023-27 strategy in relation to prisoner pathways, including identifying short-, medium- and long-term capacity and policy opportunities to deal with the increase in numbers through the implementation of its national flow plan.
We have too many people in prison. I know politics will tell us we should not care about people who are in prison, but we should. We have more people in prison than we have beds available. Some are lying on mattresses close to toilets. I would not spend a night lying on a mattress close to a toilet and I do not think the Minister of State would either, so I do not think we should expect anybody in the prison system to do that. Those in the prison system say there are far too many people with addiction issues and mental health challenges in prison who do not belong there and far too many people being sent to prison for four months. They cannot engage in prison life or do any sort of educational activity with a four-month sentence. It is a complete waste of everybody's time. The instinctive reaction from the Government when told about prison overcrowding from the Irish Penal Reform Trust is to say that we need more prisons. I would say to the Minister of State that we do not need more prisons; we need fewer prisoners. What is he going to do about it?
I fundamentally disagree that we do not care about those in prison. One only has to look at some of the progress on the work that has been done by this Government over the past four years. We have a very progressive head of the Irish Prison Service in Caron McCaffrey. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, organised a mental health task force jointly with the Department of Health and significant steps have been put in place regarding its recommendations. Along with the Minister, Deputy Harris, I am involved in the prison education task force which is making significant progress. A report was brought to the Cabinet very recently. The reality is that it is a matter for the courts to decide who goes to prison and how long they should serve for any offences committed. Increasingly, through diversion and restorative justice projects, those who can be diverted from prison are being diverted. The reality is that the population is increasing and those who commit serious offences need to be in prison to serve time for their offences.
We also have people out on temporary release in order to relieve pressure on the system. Some of those are violent offenders. Last November, there were 4,641 people in prison, 126 more than there were beds available. The Midlands Prison was at 106% capacity and Clover Hill was at 110% capacity. We do not have space to treat people with dignity. People who are not treated with dignity they will not respect the system and will reoffend. That is patently logical.
We have too many people in prison who do not need to be there. The Minister of State mentioned mental health and addiction. There are far too many people in prison whose reasons for being there are not because of the offences they committed. Fundamentally, they are there because of the mental health or addiction challenges they have. We have to have a conversation about the number of people being sent to prison for four months. The governor of Mountjoy has told me and other Members that such sentences are a complete waste of everybody's time and it is impossible to run Mountjoy Prison on that basis.
It is absolutely recognised that there is a need for additional prison spaces. The aim is that those who deserve to be in prison will be sent to prison and those who can be diverted will be diverted. Regarding mental health, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, led a very important task force which came up with real markers which are being implemented to help those who are in prison to get the mental health supports they need. There is a pilot programme in Limerick, along with the HSE, to work with people who are dealing with addiction and mental health issues who can be prevented from going into prison.
I agree that we need to people keep people from committing crimes in the first place. Where there are mental health issues leading people to commit crimes, there needs to be intervention. Obviously, the Prison Service cannot do that and, quite frankly, neither can the Courts Service. That needs to happen before people end up committing criminal offences. That requires a whole-of-government approach.