Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1943. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of deaths of prisoners in the State, in each of the past ten years. [41142/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is included in the table below. The table includes deaths that took place while the individual was in Prison, outside the prison on Temporary Release or Unlawfully at Large. I would like to express my sympathies to the family and friends of each of the individuals concerned.

All deaths of prisoners within prisons are notified to An Garda Síochána, who investigate where circumstances warrant, in addition to the inquest held in the Coroner's Court. The cause of death is determined by a jury on the basis of the information presented to the Coroner's Court.

All prisoner deaths including deaths that occur within one month of temporary release are subject to an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons.

Following this investigation, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons makes recommendations for improvement where appropriate. Finalised reports and any associated Prison Service Action Plan to address recommendations are published in an anonymised form on the Gov.ie website and made available to the Coroner.

Further, the Irish Prison Service has a robust, internal review mechanism which assesses the circumstances of each prisoner death, highlights accountability and actions taken in relation to it, and outlines lessons learned.

Table 1: Total Deaths in custody from 2015 to 17 July 2025 inclusive that took place while the prisoner was in Prison, outside the prison on Temporary Release or Unlawfully at Large: