Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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82. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the optimum staff to prisoner ratio; the current ratio; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28853/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The total number of prisoners in custody in the Irish Prison Service on 30 September 2016 was 3643. The total number of prison grade staff in prisons on the same date was 2772.5 (whole time equivalents). This equated to a ratio that day between staff in prisons and prisoners of 0.76:1.

From an operational perspective, staffing is based on the security and operational needs of the individual prison. The number of staff required is influenced by the numbers in custody, category of prisoner and regimes and a range of factors, including the risks and needs associated with specific areas and particular offenders.