Prison service proposed sentence cuts due to overcrowding

Updated / Thursday, 29 Oct 2026 13:32

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Irish jails were so overcrowded that a proposal to cut 40 days from the sentence of every prisoner in the State was put forward by authorities struggling to find more space.

An Irish Prison Service analysis said the measure would lead to the immediate release of 150 people.

That included 24 prisoners convicted of sexual offences, two of homicide offences and 37 of attempts or threats to murder.

Nine were serving sentences for burglary and six for weapons and explosives offences.

The figures, which were compiled in July 2025, also mooted proposals for a 20-day or 30-day reduction in sentence length for all prisoners.

A 20-day cut would have resulted in the immediate release of 73 prisoners while a 30-day reduction would have led to 109 releases.

The analysis was prepared as Irish Prison Service Director General Caron McCaffrey made repeated pleas for help in managing chronic overcrowding in jails.

A letter from her to the Department of Justice in March 2025 said: "Drastic measures are immediately needed to reduce prison numbers to safer levels."

The records were released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws.

In a separate letter, Ms McCaffrey sought an urgent meeting with the Justice Department to discuss how to manage overcrowding.

She said that the remand prison in Cloverhill was operating at 124% capacity with 91 prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

The governor of the jail had been forced to double up single cells for dual occupancy.

Ms McCaffrey's letter said: "There are only 20 single cells in the prison that can possibly be doubled leaving aside those on D1, D2 and C1 which would be too dangerous to double up."

She said the pressures at Cloverhill would normally be managed by transferring prisoners to other jails.

However, all the other prisons were also overcrowded with 5,463 people in custody compared to a bed capacity of 4,672.

She wrote: "Given we will now have to consider accommodating prisoners outside of areas certified by the Minister for use as cells, I really need an urgent meeting … to seek guidance on areas the Minister would now like us to designate [for use]."

Asked about the records, a Department of Justice spokesperson said Minister Jim O’Callaghan was "acutely aware" of capacity constraints in Irish prisons.

They said: "[The minister] is pursuing a dual approach to address the issue of capacity by increasing prison spaces and pursuing further measures to support non-custodial sanctions.

"The largest prison expansion programme in the history of the State is currently underway and will deliver over 1,500 new spaces in the coming years."

The spokesperson said staff safety was also being supported by enhancing personal protective equipment available and increasing the maximum sentence for assault or a threat to assault a prison officer.