Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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249. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his attention has been drawn to the fact that on 4 July 2018 there were 314 prisoners detained in Cork prison which has a capacity for 296 and a peak capacity of 310; if he was informed of these emergency circumstances; his views on whether the prison is safe for both staff and prisoners in cases in which the peak capacity is breached; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3718/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that Cork Prison is the main committal prison for male prisoners from the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. My officials in the Irish Prison Service have informed me that the current operational capacity figure for the Prison is 296 and that in 2018 the average daily population figure was 288.

The prison system is, of course, subject to peaks and troughs. Numbers can be particularly high when Courts are at their busiest, giving rise to a high number of committals. While there were 314 prisoners in Cork Prison on 4 July 2018, through a combination of temporary and full release and transfers to other prisons, my officials in the Irish Prison Service reduced this number over the following week to 288 prisoners on 11 July 2018.

It has to be acknowledged that the Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals and is required by law to accept all prisoners into their custody who have been committed to prison by the Courts. The Irish Prison Service therefore has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.

Where the number of prisoners exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, my officials make every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and structured Temporary Release, as happened in Cork Prison on this occasion. Decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case by case basis and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made.

However, where it is not possible to reduce the capacity of a given prison in this manner, prisons may be required to operate in excess of their official bed capacity. Every effort is made by the Irish Prison Service to ensure that this requirement is limited in duration.