Saoirse Brady

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) published its 2023 annual report on Friday, showing the daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2023 rose by 11.1 per cent to 4,582, compared to 4,122 in 2022.

The report revealed an increase in people committed on short sentences of less than 12 months, more women imprisoned and nearly a tripling of the number of people being imprisoned for non-payment of fines.

Saoirse Brady, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), said the next government “faces an immense task to tackle both chronic and acute problems in prisons, and in the criminal justice system more widely, to stem the flow of people on short sentences into our prison system and help more people move on from offending”.

She added: “Notably, since the end of 2023 we’ve continued to break new prison overcrowding records — with safe capacity levels breached daily. Any new government needs to shift its thinking to deliver what is needed immediately rather than continuing with the endless refrain of building more prison spaces as if that will be a silver bullet.

“These spaces are years in the making. Yet officials right across the criminal justice sector have already identified tangible short-term solutions in the Prison Overcrowding Response Group’s final report which sets out practical measures that could quickly take the pressure off and provide the IPS with some much-needed breathing space.”

The NGO said it is “concerned at the continued trend of short sentences with a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in 2023 of sentences between three and six months”.

“Looking at the pressure on services right across the prison estate, clearly people entering prison for a matter of days, weeks or months will never reach the top of any waiting list to get the necessary to address any underlying issues they might have,” Ms Brady said.

Around 16 per cent of those committed to prison in 2023 were homeless, including 29 per cent of women committed to prison.

The increase in the number of people imprisoned for non-payment of a fine suggests a reversal of a downward trend that began with the commencement of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014.

IPRT said both figures were concerning in the context of a “cost-of-living and homelessness crisis”.

Ms Brady said: “IPRT calls on any and all parties and individuals who will shortly enter programme for government negotiations to have the political courage to invest in proven solutions and deal with people who offend in a more effective, humane, and less costly manner which ultimately leads to more resilient individuals, safer communities and fewer people in the criminal justice system.”