Less than two per cent of Irish prisoners voted in abortion referendum

Just 58 of 3,987 people in Irish prisons on 25 May 2018 cast their vote, a turnout of just 1.5 per cent (though this includes non-eligible foreign nationals).

In the State as a whole, turnout in the referendum was 64.1 per cent, the highest ever in an Irish constitutional referendum.

Prisoner turnout appears to have fallen steadily since prisoners received the right to vote in 2006. Nearly 12 per cent voted in the 2007 election, seven per cent in 2011, and just over four per cent in 2016.

According to The Irish Times, there were no visits by campaign groups to Irish prisons in the run-up to the referendum.

Deirdre Malone, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), said the decrease in prisoner voting was concerning as civic engagement in prison supports reintegration into society.

She said: “That’s of real concern to us because it strongly suggests that whatever measures being taken in prisons to promote the use of the franchise are simply not working.”