Irish prison overcrowding is now at 'crisis' level

Irish prison overcrowding is now at 'crisis' level

Warning from Prison Officers Association comes as Ireland now has 860 more inmates than its prisons can hold

Urgent reform needed to bring Irish prisons from the brink of disaster

The worsening overcrowding crisis in prisons highlights the need for reform of a failing justice system, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who will visit the Dóchas women’s prison this week alongside his colleague Senator Patricia Stephenson, said: “The most recent figures show the Dóchas facility is operating at 138% capacity – this year, we’ve seen the national prison population rise to over 5,528, …