1. There are 4,936 people in prison custody in Ireland (1 May 2024).
2. The rate of imprisonment in Ireland is approximately 82 per 100,000 of the general population (end of August 2022).
3. In 2021, the average cost of an “available, staffed prison space” was €80,335.
4. The overall daily average number of prisoners in custody in 2021 was 3,791 compared to 3,824 in 2020, a decrease of under 1%.
5. In 2020 there were 2,548 prisoners committed under sentence serving sentences of less than 12 months.
6. The majority of Irish prisoners have never sat a State exam and over half left school before the age of 15.
7. The average number of females in custody in 2021 was 144, a slight decrease on the 2022 average of 148.
8. The daily average number of female offenders in custody rose by 29% in the ten year period between 2006 and 2016.
9. As of April 2022, there are 31 people in prison slopping out, without in-cell sanitation.
10. As of April 2022, 1,908 (47.5%) prisoners were required to use the toilet in the presence of another prisoner.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.