Prison system ‘at breaking point’ with urgent action needed to tackle overcrowding (The Irish Times)
2nd December 2025
The article outlines the worsening overcrowding crisis across Ireland’s prisons, as highlighted in IPRT’s latest Progress in the Penal System (PIPS) report. Executive Director Saoirse Brady stresses that expanding prison spaces will not resolve the crisis.
The system is now operating at 123% capacity, with almost 600 people sleeping on mattresses beside toilets, rising violence, and a record number of deaths in custody — conditions described by oversight bodies as degrading and inhumane. Overcrowding is also undermining progress in key areas such as time out of cell, safety, and humane treatment.
IPRT calls for urgent Government-led action, including expanded use of community sanctions, alternative pathways for people with mental health or addiction issues, publication of long-delayed inspection reports, and implementation of recommendations from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. The organisation stresses that real progress requires a system-wide approach beyond simply increasing prison capacity.
Related items:
- Prisoner numbers on course to reach 'unimaginable' level - The Irish Examiner
- Number of non-nationals in Irish jails has more than doubled in past five years - Irish Mail on Sunday
- Urgent calls to address major overcrowding in Limerick Prison - Limerick Post
- No beds for over 100 people in Cork Prison - The Echo
- Ebulletin #126
