Justice Minister to speed up plans to build almost 1,000 new Irish prison spaces
Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan is set to speed up the introduction of almost 1,000 new prison places – in a bid to ease the chronic overcrowding crisis.
More than 5,390 people are currently locked up in Ireland – even though the prison system only has capacity for 4,600 inmates and Mr O'Callaghan is today expected to inform Cabinet of plans to address the issue.
He plans to have 960 new spaces in place before 2030.
He has already secured agreement with Public Expenditure minster Jack Chambers for the plan for the acceleration of prison projects through an exemption from the initial approval gate of the infrastructure guidelines.
Sources say that should reduce delivery timelines by up to 18 months.
The Accounting Officer of the Department of Justice will oversee governance and oversight of the projects, to ensure value for money, budget management and sound project management are achieved.
The scheme will see 150 new spaces at Castlerea Prison in Roscommon by the end of 2027.
The Midlands in Portlaoise, Co Laois will get another 180 spaces by mid 2029. The Dochas female prison in Dublin will have room for another 50 inmates by early 2028.
Wheatfield in west Dublin will get 100 new places by the same time frame. And Mountjoy will have 150 new spaces by early 2029.
And the old Cork prison will be rebuilt – with 230 male spaces and 100 for women.
The Minister will inform Cabinet today that the prison estate is currently operating at 115 per cent over capacity with a new record high of 5,394 individuals in mid-April, representing an 11 per cent rise in 12 months and over 1,100 more people in prison than in January 2023.
Minister O'Callaghan has already received Cabinet approval to expand alternatives to custodial sentences including expanding the use of Community Service Orders.
The Minister also intends to introduce an electronic tagging pilot programme in the coming months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man who beat vulnerable partner to death in Co Antrim home jailed for 19 years
A man who beat his vulnerable partner 'again and again and again until he killed her' in her Co Antrim home has been jailed for a minimum of 19 years for her murder. As he sentenced John David Scott (36) for murdering his 32-year old partner Natasha Melendez, Mr Justice Weir said he had inflicted multiple injuries upon the mother-of-four in prior assaults before the fatal attack on March 22nd, 2020. This occurred in her Finch Gardens home in Lisburn, which the judge said was a place where she should have felt safe. Ms Melendez, who was orginally from Venezuela, died in hospital on April 1st, 2020. READ MORE As he sentenced Scott, Mr Justice O'Hara said: 'I accept that the murder was not pre-meditated but it was an easily foreseeable end result of how the defendant treated Ms Melendez.'
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
Overcrowded jails spark ‘grave concerns' about safety of staff and inmates
The head of the Irish prison system warned the Department of Justice she had 'grave concerns' about the safety of staff and inmates because of dire overcrowding in jails. A letter sent by Irish Prison Service director general Caron McCaffrey in 2024 said the Minister needed to think carefully about the appointment of 20 new judges, which would lead to a further influx of prisoners the service could not cope with. 'Undoubtedly a large element of the current overcrowding crisis is directly related to the appointment of additional judges,' the letter read. '[This led to] the scheduling of over 600 extra court sittings this year, decisions taken when our prisons were already over capacity and not in a position to absorb the inevitable increase in committals safely.' READ MORE The correspondence was sent on a day in May last year when there were 4,960 people in the custody of the Irish Prison Service (IPS). That number has since risen as high as 5,400. Ms McCaffrey's letter has been released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws. She wrote: 'In the absence of an urgent decision [on temporary release measures], I need to advise you that I now have grave concerns in relation to the ability of this service to ensure the safety of both those who work and live in our prisons.' Ms McCaffrey said with nearly 5,000 people in custody, prisons were already operating with 'dangerous levels of overcrowding'. She said there had been a sharp increase in temporary release to relieve pressure but all of the main prisons were well above operational capacity. [ Provision of almost 1,000 extra prison places to be fast-tracked Opens in new window ] Ms McCaffrey also told the department that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was due to visit in the coming weeks, writing : '[They] will be scathing in their criticism of the conditions we are being forced to hold people in with over 200 people sleeping on mattresses on the floor this morning.' Ms McCaffrey said she wanted an urgent decision on new rules around who could and could not be given temporary release. She also asked for a commitment that no new measures would be introduced that would add to the burden, particularly then minister for justice Helen McEntee's wish to appoint 20 new judges 'with haste'. An earlier letter from Ms McCaffrey from February 2024 to the department said the prison system was now in an 'untenable, unacceptable and potentially unsafe situation' due to overcrowding. She said there was a real risk the IPS would not be able to produce all prisoners for court hearings, saying it was 'at a tipping point' in terms of its ability to fulfil that service. : She said every possible measure had been used to ease overcrowding including the recommissioning of small areas of prisons to provide extra beds, provision of bunk beds, and reopening of the Training Unit at Mountjoy in Dublin. 'Despite these efforts, numbers continue to grow to record levels,' she said.
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Pupils ran out in tears' – Dublin school ‘devastated' after two ‘popular' school children deported to Nigeria
AN Irish school attended by two brothers who were among 35 people deported to Nigeria say they have been left "devastated" in the wake of the event. The two were part of a group made up of 21 men, nine women, and five 3 The deportations came as part of an ongoing Garda operation Credit: Alamy 3 The recent charter flight was the third of its kind this year Credit: alamy They were But principal of St James's Primary School in Ciaran Cronin told He opined that to "spring" deportations on children who thought they had an immigration appointment is "very cruel". READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS Cronin said other children had witnessed the two boys' belongings being packed up from their hotel rooms and put on a bus. He explained: "On Wednesday morning they all came to school completely distressed, upset, visibly shaken by what they had seen at the hotel in the morning. "They came to "We had been in touch with the mother for a long time, knowing that they were going through the deportation process." MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN Cronin added that the primary school had been advocating on the 32 people deported to Georgia from Ireland on chartered flight as Minister in 'robust & enforced' immigration laws vow He claimed that they had put in character references for the boys explaining that they wanted them to be let stay in the school. But, he explained: "On Wednesday morning, when the children came in, we kind of knew it's the end of the line for them, unfortunately." Cronin went on to say that the two boys were "really popular" in school. He said: "They were part of the football team. They played the Cumann na mBunscol "Had loads of friends and got on really well with everyone." He described the two children's deportation as "a huge loss" to the school. And he added that teachers had to explain to the other pupils in the school that the boys weren't coming back. 'THEY'VE LOST THEIR FRIENDS' He explained: "At home time yesterday pupils ran out in tears telling their "They've lost their friends, they're looking to see if they have their WhatsApp, that they can contact them, and they haven't been able to make contact with them since." He told RTE's "This cannot happen again. All of this can be done better." The National Immigration Bureau confirmed yesterday that it continues to work with the Department of Justice on enforcing immigration policy. 'CLEAR MESSAGE' A spokesperson for the force said: "An Garda Siochana continues to work closely with the Department of Justice in implementing immigration policy." The Justice Department had previously said that they carry out deportations as a "last resort" when people have not left the country voluntarily. Minister for Justice He said: "Ireland has a rules-based immigration system. It is important that those rules are robust and enforced. "The return of people whose applications have been refused and deportation orders have issued is the foundation of any modern rules-based immigration process. "People coming to Ireland must follow the appropriate pathways for legal migration and these pathways must be adhered to and protected for our immigration system to work fairly and effectively. "If a person's application for international protection is refused and they are ordered to leave the State they must do so." 3 The principal of St James' Primary School called the event "a huge loss" Credit: Google
