Written answers
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Department of Justice and Equality
Prison Service
Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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435. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of male prisoners and number of female prisoners at each prison and the number therein that are serving sentences of 0-3months, 3-6 months, 6 months - 1 year, 1-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, 4-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-15 years, 15-20 years and over 20 years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8057/24]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware the Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals and must accept all people committed by the Courts Service.
I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service and my Department are committed to providing safe and secure custody for all people committed to prison while ensuring a safe working environment for staff. Officials in the Irish Prison Service and the Department are continuously working to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage the current capacity issues in our prisons.
I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that the number of individuals in prison by gender and length of sentence is taken from the most recent snapshot of the prison population conducted on 31 January 2024 and is outlined in the table below. As the Deputy will be aware there are only two female prisons - the female prison in Limerick and Mountjoy female prison (the Dochas), however to be of assistance data for all the prisons has been provided.
Sentenced Prisoners in Custody on 31st January 2024, broken down by establishment and sentence length
| <3 Mths | 3 to <6 Mths | 6 to <12 Mths | 1 to <2 *Yrs | 2 to <3 *Yrs | 3 to <5 *Yrs | 5 to <10 *Yrs | 10+ *Yrs | Life Sentence | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arbour Hill Prison | 3 | 6 | 27 | 38 | 34 | 28 | 136 | |||
| Castlerea Prison | 5 | 9 | 25 | 49 | 36 | 65 | 68 | 8 | 27 | 292 |
| Cloverhill Remand Prison | 2 | 19 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 58 | |
| Cork Prison | 2 | 20 | 45 | 47 | 28 | 41 | 23 | 3 | 12 | 221 |
| Limerick Prison (Female) | 1 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 52 |
| Limerick Prison (Male) | 6 | 17 | 29 | 33 | 45 | 54 | 39 | 4 | 12 | 239 |
| Loughan House Place Of Detn. | 3 | 33 | 44 | 40 | 13 | 133 | ||||
| Midlands Prison | 3 | 25 | 54 | 106 | 91 | 165 | 204 | 129 | 73 | 850 |
| Mountjoy Prison (Female) | 2 | 2 | 24 | 29 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 108 |
| Mountjoy Prison (Male) | 9 | 31 | 48 | 100 | 112 | 182 | 185 | 40 | 74 | 781 |
| Portlaoise Prison | 12 | 21 | 21 | 47 | 51 | 28 | 31 | 211 | ||
| Shelton Abbey Place Of Detn. | 4 | 11 | 34 | 29 | 3 | 23 | 104 | |||
| Training Unit Place Of Detn. | 7 | 7 | 18 | 32 | 28 | 6 | 98 | |||
| Wheatfield Prison | 2 | 15 | 31 | 48 | 59 | 123 | 135 | 23 | 67 | 503 |
| Grand Total | 32 | 143 | 293 | 475 | 470 | 829 | 862 | 304 | 378 | 3786 |
The Deputy may also wish to be aware that the Irish Prison Service publishes figures in relation to prisoner population on their website www.irishprisons.ie.
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