IPRT Response to Irish Prison Service's Annual Report 2024

4th September 2025

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) is today responding to the publication of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) Annual Report 2024, with deep concern at the sharp rise in committals, ongoing overcrowding and spiralling costs.  

The statistics highlight persistent use of prison for short sentences, a sharp rise in prison overcrowding, and increasing costs to the taxpayer – all of which underline the urgent need for a shift towards evidence-based, community-based alternatives.  

IPRT says the findings highlight the urgent need for a decisive shift away from prison towards effective community-based alternatives, particularly for those on remand or for those serving sentences of less than 12 months. 

IPRT Executive Director, Saoirse Brady, responded saying:  

“The Irish Penal Reform Trust welcomes the publication today of the IPS Annual Report for 2024.   

Prison should be a sanction of last resort, yet these figures show it continues to be used for minor offences and at great financial cost to the State, when the average cost of a prison place approaches €100,000 a year. The fact that over three-quarters of sentences were for 12 months or less shows that prison is still being used inappropriately for minor offending. This approach does nothing to reduce reoffending and comes at an enormous human cost in terms of people often losing access to community supports, accommodation, employment and it has a hugely detrimental impact on family relationships.  

The pressure on the prison estate is evident yet custodial sentences continue to be handed down for less serious offences. Everyone from IPRT to the Chief Inspector of Prisons agrees that we can’t build our way out of this crisis. Prison expansion is not a quick fix – it will be years in the making and will not solve this issue. IPRT met with the Minister for Justice earlier this week and welcomed legislative proposals that he has brought forward to expand the use of community service orders. More legislation is needed to expand the range of non-custodial options available to the judiciary. This should be accompanied by a rebalancing of investment into alternatives like probation supervision and restorative justice. Prioritising these types of measures could help stem the ever-increasing flow of people into the prison system who arguably should not be there at all.   

It is clear from the report that mental health, addiction, homelessness and deprivation are all contributing factors in why some people end up in prison. These underlying issues need to be addressed in a meaningful way. The IPS intends to commission a Mental Health Needs Assessment. Significant investment in this crucial measure will be money well spent as it will help determine the baseline for many of the issues that people in prison face and allow the State to design and invest in appropriate responses in the years to come.  

Noting the increase in people sleeping on mattresses on the floor and the deterioration in standards overall as called out by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in its recent report, clearly people are living in unacceptable conditions that constitute an unacceptable breach of their human dignity. Prison overcrowding not only undermines rehabilitation, it impacts safety for both prisoners as well as prison staff. Even in times of crisis there are basic human rights that must be upheld.” 

Saoirse Brady continued in her response: 

“This report alongside the Probation Service annual report shows us an alternative way forward. Probation costs less than 10 per cent of a prison space and delivers better outcomes for people who can serve their sentence in the community. Evidence-based alternatives like the pilot supervised temporary release scheme for women in Limerick, bail support schemes and investments in community sanctions have been proven to deliver better results for the individual, their families and the wider community. It is high time that investment in the criminal justice system is rebalanced to make it more effective, cost-efficient and most importantly humane.  

 

 

 

ENDS  

For all media enquiries, or to arrange an interview with Saoirse Brady, IPRT Executive Director, please contact Siobhán Tracey, IPRT Communications and Campaigns Lead on:    

 M: +353 86 043 3060        E: communications@iprt.ie      W:  www.iprt.ie  

Photo of Saoirse Brady attached. 

NOTES FOR EDITORS:  

1. Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) | www.iprt.ie  

IPRT is Ireland's leading non-governmental organisation campaigning for the rights of everyone in prison and the progressive reform of Irish penal policy, with prison as a last resort.  

2 Prison figures:  

As of Thursday 4 September 2025, Irish prisons were operating at 119 percent capacity, with 5,463 in prison custody with 503 sleeping on mattresses on the floor. 

3. Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024 | Published today, available here. 

4. Key Figures: Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024. 

• Increased number of committals – 8.704 committals to prison in 2024, a 9.6 per cent increase on the number of committals in 2022 (7,938). Of these, 5091 were committed under sentence. 

• Increased overall daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2024 was 4,941 compared to 4,582 in 2023, an increase of 7.8 per cent from 2023 with a 17.3% (+37) increase of female prisoners on the 2023 average of 214, and 7.4% increase (+322) of male prisoners on the 2023 average of 4,368. 

• High number of people on pre-trial detention (remand) – number of people on remand remains generally static at 21% of prison population. 

• Ongoing  use of short sentences - 77 per cent of Sentence committals were for 12 months or less.  

• Overcrowding: The prison population reached 5,001 at year-end up six per cent on 2023. 213 individuals were forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor – 156 per cent from the previous year. 

• A reduction in the number of committals for fines: The number of committals for the non-payment of court ordered fines decreased in 2024, from 552 to 507, however, this is still more than 2.5 times the figure for 2022 (205).   

• Homeless status: 11.6 per cent of all prisoners reported being of no fixed abode upon committal.  

• Increased cost of imprisonment: The average annual cost of an available, staffed prison space during the calendar year 2024 was €99,072, a 11.9 per cent increase on the 2023 cost of €88,523. 

• Education - Education participation rates up in all prisons in Q4 2024 compared to Q4 2023. 

• Work and training – Work and training participation rates slightly down in seven prisons in Q4 2024 compared to same in 2023. 

• Immigration detainees – Number of people detained for immigration purposes up 65 per cent from 2023, 209 vs 127.  

•  Self-harm in Irish Prisons: There was an increase in episodes of self-harm from       2022 to 2023, both in the number of episodes and the number of individuals: 

• In 2022, there was 161 episodes of self-harm involving 100 individuals. 

•  In 2023, there was 215 episodes of self-harm involving 132 individuals. 

• The rate of self-harm was higher among prisoners on remand compared to sentenced prisoners 

• Health staff: 

• Ratio of psychologists to prisons up in 2024, from 1 : 295 in 2023 to 1 : 212 in 2024. 

• A greater number of psychology sessions completed in 2024 than 2023 (9,720 vs 9,252). 

• No change in number of GPs or registered nurses, however there has been an increase of 3 Chief Nurse Officers, from 11 in 2023 to 14 in 2024. 

 

 

Note the SADA report with self-harm stats mentioned in the report has not yet been published and relates to period 2022/203