Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Select Committee on Justice and Equality
Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 20 - An Garda Síochána (Revised)
Vote 21 - Prisons (Revised)
Vote 22 - Courts Service (Revised)
Vote 24 - Justice (Revised)
Vote 41 - Policing Authority (Revised)
Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission (Revised)
Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
The Minister has mentioned that there are just over 4,400 prisoners in Irish prisons, which means that in some cases there are three persons in each cell. Overcrowding is a real issue. Overcrowding has an impact on the mental health of prisoners and on prison staff who must deal with the results of a highly stressed environment. I do not advocate that we build more space and we should not be a society that wants to lock people up but we must find a solution. We must find a system where people are not sent to jail for minor offences thus imposing a huge cost on the State, etc. and get to grips with overcrowding.
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