Prisoner numbers on course to reach 'unimaginable' level - The Irish Examiner
6th January 2026
This article highlights a deepening overcrowding crisis in Irish prisons, with numbers approaching 6,000—well above official capacity. It quotes the Irish Penal Reform Trust warning that the Irish Prison Service is “fighting a losing battle” and that the system is “at breaking point”, while calling for a cross-government response and greater investment in community-based alternatives to custody.
Read the full article here.
Related items:
- Prison overcrowding group to meet after capacity crisis warning
- Continued reliance on ‘single separation' of children at Oberstown detention centre
- IPRT Submission to the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on the fourth Universal Periodic Review of Ireland
- Inmates still earn just 50c for a day's work in Irish prisons
- Life after prison - David McCullagh Show RTE Radio 1
