Saoirse Brady speaks to News at One in an interview given as part of coverage of Irish Prisons Annual Report 2024 Saoilaunch
4th September 2025
In the interview, Saoirse highlighted that:
- Prison must be the sanction of last resort;
- Current overcrowding levels and the use of mattresses on floors are an unacceptable breach of human dignity;
- With 77% of sentences 12 months or less, prison appears to be overused for less serious offences.
- At nearly €100,000 per prison place per year, this approach comes at enormous financial and human cost.
Saoirse emphasised that we cannot build our way out of this crisis. Instead, Ireland must rebalance investment into:
Related items:
- Report launch: Paying the Price – The Cost and Impact of Imprisonment on Families in Ireland
- Rehabilitated offenders should be able to move on with their lives - that includes jobs
- Lack of clarity over budget funding for addiction and mental health supports in prisons
- IPRT presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration on Pre-legislative scrutiny of the General Scheme: Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025
- Round-up: IPRT Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2025
