Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

200. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of prisoners incarcerated; the breakdown by the average length of sentence; the number of those prisoners incarcerated for the non-payment of fines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57784/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I can inform the Deputy that according to the latest snapshot of the prison population, taken on the 19 November 2021, there was a total of 3,836 prisoners in custody of which 2,971 are sentenced prisoners.

A breakdown of sentence length for all 2,971 sentenced prisoners is set out in the table below. The balance of 865 prisoners consisted of 863 prisoners held on trial/remand warrants, 1 prisoner held on an Immigration warrant and one prisoner held on an extradition order warrant. On this date, the number of persons committed to prison for non-payment of fines was 2.

It is the case that the number of persons committed to prison for non-payment of fines has decreased substantially since the commencement of the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014. The Act provides the court with a number of alternatives orders (recovery order, attachment of earnings order, community service order) that it can make before the court considers committing the person to prison for non-payment of the fine.

The Irish Prison Service advise that detailed statistical information in relation to numbers in prison custody, prison sentences and length of sentences is available on the Irish Prison Service website www.irishprisons.ie, in the Information Centre, under Statistics & Information. Statistics available include daily prison population, monthly information note statistics, snapshot statistics and yearly statistics.