Prison overcrowding crisis has deepened further this year
5th September 2025
In an article on their website, RTE journalist Eleanor Burnhill writes about the prison overcrowding crisis following the launch of the Irish Prison Service 2024 Annual Report. "The Irish Penal Reform Trust said it was deeply concerned at the sharp rise in committals, ongoing overcrowding and the spiralling cost of keeping someone in prison.
"From 2023 to 2024 the cost of keeping somebody in prison for a year has risen by 11% so it nearly costs 100,000 euro to keep a person in prison for a year," its Executive Director Saoirse Brady said.
She said the cost of overseeing someone on probation would be much less.
Related items:
- Inmates still earn just 50 cents for a day's work in Irish prisons - Dublin Inquirer
- People in Ireland from poorer backgrounds are at a higher risk of going to jail, says report - Liberal.ie
- From Punishment to Prevention: Poverty, Inequality and Pathways into the Irish Criminal Justice System
- Irish Penal Reform Trust Links Poverty to Criminal Justice System - RTÉ News
- Irish Penal Reform Trust Discusses Alternatives to Imprisonment - Newstalk
