Record breaking inmate numbers at Cork prison 'poses clear risks', says Irish Penal Reform Trust

The record breaking amount of prisoners in Cork prison on Friday “poses clear risks” to both prisoners and staff, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) have said.

The prison is at 120% capacity, with 355 in custody and only 296 beds, and an additional 68 out on temporary release.

A Cork prison officer said he expects the numbers to continue to rise “due to the circuit court in full swing at this time of year".

“There are so many cases to be heard that there is a huge backlog. They are close to 60 prisoners sleeping on the floor at the moment.” 

The 59 prisoners without beds in Cork are in addition to the 501 without beds in the rest of Ireland.

A spokesperson for the prison said: “The Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.

“Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the Irish Prison Service makes every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured Temporary Release,” they said, adding that these are subject to conditions and anyone who breaches them will be returned to prison immediately.

The spokesperson added that the Government has made capital funding available to provide new accommodation for over 1,100 prisoners between 2024 and 2030.

No new beds for Cork have been announced, but re-opening the old Cork prison, which closed in 2016, is currently being considered following a feasibility study.

Sinn Féin Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould said: “These figures show the government’s failure to address issues with prison capacity in this state. They’re telling us they have a plan to expand four prison sites but in reality, that won’t happen until 2027.

“These statistics cannot be used by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to open a second prison in the Glen. The solution to this is not to put a residential area under more strain.

“70% of people in prison will spend 4.5 months or less there. This really needs to be looked at – prisons should be for people engaged in serious criminality and damaging behaviour.

“There are also many people in prison right now who, if they had access to addiction services would not be there and would instead be contributing to their community.” 

'UNNACEPTABLE'

IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady said: “The current level of overcrowding is unacceptable and poses clear risks to both people living in custody and staff. Noone should have to sleep on a mattress on the floor of a prison cell.

“Reducing the number of people going to prison on short sentences and providing more alternatives to prison would not only be more cost-effective but would have longer-lasting positive results in reducing crime.” 

Ms Brady added: “The current talk of building more prison spaces will do nothing to alleviate today’s crisis as those are years in the making.

“Similarly, current discussions around reopening Cork prison are unhelpful as the prison is not fit-for-purpose and was closed almost a decade ago because it had no in-cell sanitation. We have finally gotten to a stage that slopping out is all but eliminated, we can’t go back.” 

She shared that a recent RED C poll commissioned by IPRT found positive appetite for change, with four in five people believing it's important to focus on alternatives to prison for people who commit non-violent offences.

Only one out of four believes prison is effective at reducing non-violent crime and one in two polled thought that people left prison worse than when they entered.

Ms Brady concluded: “IPRT wants to see the incoming government shift its thinking, make politically brave decisions and invest in meaningful solutions that will result in both a more effective and humane penal system as well as ending cycles of disadvantage and harm faced by so many in the criminal justice system.”