Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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867. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will publish the number of prisoners sleeping on mattresses on cell floors in each prison; the number of bail-eligible prisoners held on remand due to the absence of electronic tagging or community supervision; and the Department’s specific 2025 targets for expanding electronic monitoring, including procurement status, KPIs, and independent evaluation of outcomes, by week since 1 January 2025. [48135/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that information relating to prison capacity and the numbers of prisoners in custody, including those accommodated on a mattress, is collated daily by the Irish Prison Service Statistics Unit and published on its website (www.irishprisons.ie). This information can be found in the Information Centre under Statistics & Information, Daily Prisoner Population. The direct link is: www.irishprisons.ie/information-centre/statistics-information/2015-daily-prisoner-population/.

In relation to the granting of bail, it is not open to me as Minister to comment or intervene in any way in relation to how particular court proceedings are conducted, or on the outcome of those proceedings. These are matters entirely for the presiding judge. The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the courts. Considerations relating to prison capacity are not a feature of Ireland’s legal framework in relation to bail and decisions on bail.

The Department is leading a cross-agency project to introduce electronic monitoring (EM) for specific categories of individuals, as committed to in the Programme for Government, and in line with existing legal provisions. Existing legislation, including the Bail Act 1997, as amended, the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended and the Sex Offender Act 2001, as amended, provide for electronic monitoring, in certain circumstances.

A steering group is in place, made up of sectoral representatives, who will be involved in the delivery and work is underway on scoping out the practical operational considerations, including the technology to be used for relevant categories of offender to inform next steps. A Request for Information was published on eTenders on Thursday, 5 June. This is a key early step in engaging with the market and preparing for a future Request for Tender. It is intended to go to tender for a service later this year.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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868. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide the average and maximum time spent on remand since 2020; the proportion of remand prisoners subsequently convicted of non-custodial offences; and the Department’s current policy on crediting time served on remand towards sentence calculation, by prison. [48136/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that it is not possible to provide the specific information sought in the manner that the question is posed.

However, the Deputy may find the information regarding remand prisoners in the attached tables informative. They set out:

The average length of time spent in prison custody by an individual on a remand or for trial warrant only in the calendar year.

and

The total number of prisoners held on remand or for trial only, from 2025 – 2020, that were released without a consequent custodial sentence, and the number of months spent on remand before release without sentence.

It should also be noted that crediting time served on remand towards sentence calculation is a matter for the judiciary. In general the courts give credit for time spent on remand when arriving at an appropriate sentence, however this is not mandatory.

Average length of time spent in prison custody by an individual on a remand or for trial warrant only in the calendar year

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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869. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of committals to prison in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, by sentence length; and the number of individuals committed to prison in 2023, 2024, and to date in 2025 who have served or are serving their first custodial sentence in Ireland. [48160/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The number of sentenced committals to prison in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, by sentence length is presented in the table below.

2023 – 1,189

2024 – 1,394

2025 (to end of August) - 857

An individual can be committed on more than one occasion in the calendar year. All 2025 figures above are provisional and will be subject to change pending publication of the Annual Report 2025.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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870. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the total number of people remanded to custody in 2024 and to date in 2025. [48161/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that on 31st August 2025, 2,152 persons accounted for the 2,359 committals on remand or trial warrant only. In 2024 a total of 2,940 persons accounted for the 3,352 committals on remand or trial warrant only.

An individual can be committed on more than one occasion in the calendar year.

The 2025 figures are provisional and will be subject to change pending publication of the Annual Report 2025.

*A Remand warrant is a warrant to hold a prisoner or accused person in custody with instructions to return him to a District court on a particular day.

**A Trial warrant is a warrant to hold a prisoner or accused person in custody to await trial or continuation/conclusion of his trial.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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871. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people remanded to custody who did not receive a sentence of imprisonment, either through no conviction or through receiving a sentence less than imprisonment in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48162/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Department does not record data relating to convictions, as this is a function of the courts. However, to be of assistance, I have made enquiries with the Courts Service.

The Courts Service are unable to provide data on the number of people remanded to custody who did not receive a sentence of imprisonment. They have informed me that they do not profile people before the Court as there is insufficient information available to provide accurate results.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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872. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of people remanded to custody and sentenced to prison, and who were released immediately due to having already served their sentence on remand in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48163/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that it is not possible to provide a breakdown of data in the manner sought.

While the Irish Prison Service does hold data on the number of committals received into custody on a remand or trial warrant each year, and the number of releases with a remand/trial warrant, it does not hold information on the reason for each release.

The person may have been held on remand or for trial and released from court, released on bail, or released following a non-custodial sentence or a sentence where the court order provided credit for time served on remand.

It is not, therefore, possible to provide the Deputy with the data requested.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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873. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of instances where a prisoner held solely on remand shared a cell with a convicted prisoner in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2025 by prison, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48164/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service is managing significant numbers of people held on remand or trial warrants which is contributing to overall prison population numbers.

The Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the courts into custody and does not have the option to delay or refuse to take people into custody whether sentenced, remand or awaiting trial.

As the prison population is constantly changing, it is only possible to provide the information sought as a snapshot on a given day. The attached tables set out the data breakdown sought for 9th September 2025, and the end of year for 2024, 2023 and 2022.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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874. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average amount of time that prisoners, not including those on restricted regimes, could spend outside of their cells each day, by prison, by quarter in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48165/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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It is the aim of the Irish Prison Service to allow prisoners to spend as much time as possible each day out of their cell or room to associate with other prisoners. Rule 27(3) of the Prison Rules 2007 states that "In so far as is practicable, each convicted prisoner should be engaged in authorised structured activity for a period of not less than five hours on each of five days in each week”.

A review of information supplied by each prison for the years sought indicates that the time spent out-of-cell by prisoners ranges from 7.5 hours to 8.5 hours depending on the constraints of the particular prison. The majority of prisons operate an average of 8 hours and 30 minutes out-of-cell time.

In general, prison cells are unlocked at approximately 8.00am each morning for breakfast. Prisoners collect their breakfast and return to their cells which are then locked from 8.30am to 9.15am. The cells are then unlocked for prisoners to attend work, school, visits and exercise. Prisoners return to their cells for lunch at approximately 12.30pm until 2.15pm when they return to structured and unstructured activities. In general, evening tea is served in cells from 4.45pm and cells are locked from 4.45pm until 5.15pm. From 5.15pm evening recreation commences until cells are locked around 7.30pm.

I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that it provides a wide range of rehabilitative programmes to persons in custody that include education, vocational training, healthcare, psychiatric, psychological, counselling, welfare and spiritual services. These programmes offer purposeful activity to those in custody while serving their sentences and encouraging them to lead law abiding lives on release. These programmes are available in all prisons and all persons in custody are eligible to use the services, subject to operational constraints.