Prisons

Limerick's new women's prison with capacity for at least 50 prisoners has been officially opened. The new Limerick Female Prison will increase capacity across the prison estate and has been designed with a focus on rehabilitation, the Department of Justice said, offering a range of educational, voca

Ireland's chief prisons inspector has warned that the "degrading" conditions seen at Mountjoy Prison could soon "become a grave problem for the prison system as a whole" as a result of increasing numbers of prisoners. Writing in the foreword to his office's 2022 annual report, Mark Kelly said inspec

UK justice secretary Alex Chalk is to announce that foreign criminals in England and Wales, including drug dealers, thieves, and burglars, will bypass prosecution and instead be deported in an effort to address the prison overcrowding crisis.

Additional investment is required in prison and probation services to alleviate prison overcrowding and improve undignified conditions, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said. In its pre-budget submission, the NGO calls for, among other things, the allocation of an additional €5 million t

Northern Ireland's prison service has made "impressive" progress in addressing long-standing concerns about vulnerable prisoners being held in solitary confinement for long periods, the criminal justice inspector has found. A damning report published last year found that prisoners in care and superv

A German court has rejected the extradition of an Albanian man to the UK over concerns about British prison conditions — in the second judgment of its kind this year. In June, an Irish court made the same decision when it declined to extradite an individual to Scotland, citing concerns that he

Prison leavers with a history of drug abuse will be provided with access to Naloxone under a new initiative aimed at preventing opioid overdoses during their reintegration into society.

Judges imposed sentences of less than three months' imprisonment in twice as many cases last year as five years earlier, according to new figures. A total of 994 sentences of three months or less were handed down in 2022, making up 20 per cent of all custodial sentences, The Irish Times reports. Thi

Prisoners may be able to avail of the publicly-funded fertility treatment services set to be rolled out later this year, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) has indicated. Ministers recently announced the first publicly-funded assisted human reproduction (AHR) programme in the State, which will begin in

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) is to be put on a statutory basis under legislative plans approved by ministers. The Irish Prison Service Bill 2023 will establish the IPS on a statutory footing with defined functions and responsibilities and with oversight and support from an independent non-executiv

A call to action has been issued by hundreds of women who have experienced imprisonment, alongside human rights organisations, lawyers and activists. In an open letter, coordinated by Women Beyond Walls urges the organisers of a top-tier conference in Rwanda this week to highlight the issue of femal

Inspectors have called for urgent action at Maghaberry Prison after discovering a "serious drug problem" and other issues as the prison population balloons to a record 1,230. The number of prisoners in Northern Ireland's largest prison has risen by 48 per cent in five years, from 830 prisoners at th

Ireland's prison population is growing despite government commitments to reduce prisoner numbers and welcome progress in the areas of mental health and overcrowding is at risk of being reversed, the government has been warned. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) today launched its annual Progress in

The High Court has ruled that a prison officer in the Irish Prison Service was not entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing. The officer was facing allegations of improper conduct including that he made inappropriate contact with the wife of a prisoner and made threats against a pr

The Irish Prison Service (IPS) should continue to have responsibility for prison healthcare services, a report has recommended. Justice minister Simon Harris and health minister Stephen Donnelly today published the first comprehensive health assessment undertaken for the Irish Prison Service.