Facts & Figures

1. There are 4,612 people in custody in Ireland (1 September 2023).
2. The rate of imprisonment in Ireland is approximately 89 per 100,000 of the general population (beginning of 2023). 
3. In 2022, the average cost of an “available, staffed prison space” was €84,046, a 4.6% increase from the year before.
4. The overall daily average number of people in custody in 2022 was 4,122 compared to 3,792 in 2021, an increase of 8.7% (+330).
5. In 2022, there were 3,046 people in prison committed under sentence serving sentences of less than 12 months, an increase from 2,548 in 2021.
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 2022 was 173, a 17% increase from the 2021 average of 144.
8. The daily average number of female offenders in custody rose by 14% in the ten-year period between 2012 and 2022. 
9. As of October 2023, there are 7 people in prison slopping out, without in-cell sanitation.
10. As of October 2023, 2,369 (51.3%) prisoners were required to use the toilet in the presence of another prisoner (+213 since January 2023).
11. As of October 2023, 2,004 (43%) people in prison were accommodated in single cells (down from 47.8%).
12. In 2022, there were 234 committals to prison for the non-payment of a court-ordered fine, a further decrease on the 2021 figure of 234.
13. Committals under immigration increased to 117 in 2022 after a decrease of 65.2% to 86 in 2021, from 247 in 2020.
14. The number of sentenced committals for road and traffic offences increased from 464 in 2021 to 487 in 2022 (+10%).
15. People in prison are 23 times more likely to come from (and return to) a seriously deprived area, compared to the least deprived areas. (O'Donnell et al., 2007)
16. In October 2023, of 710 people in prison on restricted regime: 22 were Rule 62 (on grounds of order); 685 were Rule 63 (protection/vulnerability); 1 was Rule 64 (medical); and 1 person in prison was restricted due to discipline (Rule 67, Part 3 Prisons Act 2007).
17. As of October 2023, 58 people in prison held on a restricted regime were aged 18-24.
18. As of October 2023, 170 people in prison were being held on 22+ hour lock-up.
19. On 30 November 2022, 28 people in prison were serving sentences of less than 3 months.
20. As of December 2023, there were 683 sentenced prisoners aged 50+;18.2% of all sentenced prisoners.
21. Over one-third (36.9%) of all persons committed to prison in 2022 declared Dublin as their county of residence.
22. The number of people committed with a life sentence decreased by two from 19 in 2021 to 17 in 2022.
23. In 2011, over 70% of prisoners were unemployed on committal and a similar percentage self-report as not having any particular trade or occupation.
24. In the two decades from 2001 to 2021, the average number of people in custody increased by 20%, from 3,165 to 3,792.
25. On 29 January 2024, 915 people in prison were on remand/trial.