Mark Kelly

In his strongest remarks yet, the chief inspector of prisons, Mark Kelly, said a significant number of people in prison in Ireland “are being held in conditions that can only be described as inhumane and degrading”.

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) yesterday published its annual report for 2024 and its strategic plan for 2025-2029.

Both documents highlight serious and systemic challenges across Ireland’s prisons, including overcrowding, mental health needs, and conditions that fall short of human rights standards.

There were a record 31 deaths in prison custody in 2024, the highest number since the OIP’s investigative role began in 2012 and a more than 50 per cent increase in the total number of deaths in 2023.

Mr Kelly said: “Overcrowding is not only a matter of numbers, it is a root cause of worsening mental health outcomes, restricted regimes, unacceptable living conditions for prisoners, and poor working conditions for prison staff.

“Currently, Ireland’s prison population exceeds more than 5,600, of whom almost 500 are being obliged to sleep on mattresses on the floor.

“In Ireland, in 2025, a significant number of people in prison are being held in conditions that can only be described as inhumane and degrading.”

He added: “These are clear symptoms of a prison system that has breached its capacity. No comparable jurisdiction has ever succeeded in building its way out of overcrowding, and immediate action is required, at the highest political levels, to address this ongoing crisis.”

The OIP will co-host an event in Dublin with the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) on 11 November 2025, which will focus on the implementation of international and national recommendations to improve the situation. 

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said the OIP’s annual report “paints a bleak picture of prison conditions in 2024”.

“However, IPRT is increasingly concerned that many of the issues outlined as being of urgent concern have deteriorated further in 2025 due to the severe overcrowding crisis, meaning even more people are living in inhuman and degrading conditions,” executive director Saoirse Brady said.

“IPRT is particularly alarmed at the record number of deaths in prison. The passage of time between the drafting of this report and its publication underscores the importance and necessity of the inspectorate being able to publish its own reports.”

She added: “IPRT again calls on the government to take immediate action to ratify and implement OPCAT.

“As we are preparing for Ireland’s EU presidency next year, it is unconscionable that we are now the only EU member state not to have ratified this treaty, which is fundamental for ensuring effective oversight and prevention of torture in places where people are deprived of their liberty, including prisons.”