Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.

Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured Temporary Release.

The criteria for participation in the Community Return and Community Support Schemes were reviewed last year and additional prisoners are now eligible for assessment for suitability to participate on these structured and supported schemes.

A Prison Overcrowding Response Group has been established, with officials from across the Department, the Irish Prison Service, Probation Service, Courts Service, and An Garda Síochána to examine proposals to address overcrowding.

While focused on rehabilitation and reducing offending, we will also continue to invest in our prison estate, to ensure that it is modern and fit for purpose and has the capacity to accommodate those committed to prison by the courts.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has made significant capital funding available to the Irish Prison Service in order to enhance the existing prison infrastructure and to provide additional capacity - with over 200 new spaces brought online in recent years.

Plans have also now been outlined for 4 new capital projects at Castlerea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons which can accommodate up to 620 prisoners and I am continuing to engage with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to progress this.