Irish prison system in unprecedented crisis
2nd December 2025
Experts have raised serious concerns about conditions in Irish prisons, warning that overcrowding is creating “a crisis the likes of which we have never experienced.” The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) released its 2024 Progress in the Penal System report, assessing the prison system against 35 human rights standards.
The report describes a prison service that is overwhelmed, overstretched, and failing to uphold the basic rights of many in its care. IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady said that overcrowding has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 5,000 people in prison for the first time in June 2024, and nearly 600 sleeping on mattresses on the floor beside toilets.
Prisons are operating at 123% capacity, with the Irish Prison Service struggling to cope. Both Ireland’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture have warned that conditions are approaching the threshold of inhuman and degrading treatment.
Brady called for greater transparency, accountability, and whole-of-government action to reduce reoffending and ensure the State meets its legal duty to uphold prisoners’ dignity.
Related items:
- Prisons Full to Bursting
- Prison Service fighting 'losing battle' against overcrowding
- Prison system ‘at breaking point’ with urgent action needed to tackle overcrowding
- Irish Prison System overwhelmed and overstretched new report states
- Ireland's prison system 'inhumane', says Irish Penal Reform Trust
