Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2023

13th December 2024

The Irish Prison Service has published the Irish Prison Service (IPS) Annual Report 2023. The report features statistics relating to the profile of the prison population in Ireland.

Below is an outline of some of the key figures contained in the report.

For IPRT's full response to the publication, see our press release.

Some key figures from the report:

Key Figures: Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2023:  

• Increased number of committals - 7,938 committals to prison in 2023, a 12.7 per cent (+895) increase on the number of committals in 2022 (7,043). 60 per cent are committed under sentence, 38 per cent are committed on remand and 2 per cent for other reasons. 

• Increased overall daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2023 was 4,582 compared to 4,122 in 2022, an increase of 11.1 per cent (+460). The daily average number of persons in custody in 2023 was 15.4 per cent (+611) higher than in 2019 (pre-Covid). The daily average number of female offenders in custody increased by 23.7 per cent, from 173 in 2022 to 214 in 2023. 

• Increased use of short sentences - 78 per cent of Sentence committals were for 12 months or less. Up from it was 74 per cent of sentence committals in 2022. The number of prisoners sentenced to 3 to <6 months in 2023 increased by 10.4 per cent. 

• Increased use of long sentences - the number of people committed for greater than one year increased by 35.1 per cent (+483) compared to 2019 (pre-Covid).  

• Almost triple the number of committals for fines: The number of committals for the non-payment of court ordered fines has increased in 2023, from 205 to 552 (2.7 times more).  

• Homeless status: On 31 December 2023, 16.4 per cent (or 767) of all prisoners reported being of no fixed abode upon committal. 28.6 per cent (63 persons) of female prisoners reported being of ‘no fixed abode’, while 15.7% (704 persons) of male prisoners reported being of ‘no fixed abode’. These figures do not provide a complete picture of self-reported homelessness among persons in custody on 31 December 2023. Some new committals are reporting their address as a homeless service and in some cases the address is not stated so the numbers could be higher. 

• Increased cost of imprisonment: The average annual cost of an available, staffed prison space during the calendar year 2023 was €88,523, a 5.3 per cent increase on the 2022 cost of €84,067. 

• High number of people on pre-trial detention (remand): 3,035 persons were on remand in 2023. At the end of 2023, the proportion of remand trial prisoners in custody for one year or more was 9 per cent compared with 6 per cent at the start of 2020. 

• Education attainment: The majority of persons in custody (67.7 per cent) on 31 December 2023 were early school leavers. 

• Employment status: 93.6 per cent of women and 76.4 per cent of men were unemployed upon committal 

• Recognition of the importance of the installation of in-cell telephony and video visiting to maintain crucial family and community ties. 

The report: Irish Prison Service (IPS) Annual Report 2023.

See more: 

• IPRT: Overcrowded Prisons Demand Urgent Shift to Alternative Solutions in New Programme for Government - IPRT
• The Journal: Close to 13% increase in number of committals to prison last year, according to new report
• Irish Times: Prison watchdog warns of ‘immense task’ in tackling overcrowding in Irish jails 
• Irish Legal News: Call for ‘political courage’ as more committed to prison on short sentences
• Irish Mirror: Blocked up behind bars 
• Ireland Live: Hundreds of inmates sleeping on floors but cost rises to €90,000 per prisoner at jails in Laois and elsewhere