Prisons and Alternative Sentencing Options: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Seanad for the opportunity to discuss this very important issue this afternoon. Obviously, a very important part of my functions as Minister for justice is responsibility for prisons in Ireland. I am pleased to say that since I have become Minister, I have had the opportunity to visit seven of our prisons to date and, in the very near future, I will be visiting two more. I expect, certainly by the middle of this year, that I will have visited every prison in the country. The first thing I want to say is that I get an opportunity through the visits to see first-hand the professionalism and dedication of the staff of the Irish Prison Service. I start by extending my thanks to them. I never go to a prison without meeting and talking freely to the prisoners, which I can do. That is also a very important and educational process for me to see the human face of the individuals who are within our prison system. I am obviously aware of the challenges that exist and the difficulties that current capacity constraints pose to those who work and live in our prisons. I also note the recent reports on prison conditions from the Inspector of Prisons. I would like to acknowledge the very important work undertaken by Mr. Mark Kelly, the Inspector of Prisons. I had an opportunity to meet him face-to-face not that long ago. I am very conscious of the important role he plays in ensuring that I am held to account for the prison system. His reports highlight the challenges faced within prisons and underline the urgency of investment to reduce the impact of overcrowding and ensure there is adequate prison capacity to underpin an effective criminal justice system. When we look at the issue of capacity, it is worthwhile remembering the statistics. Back in 2009, the capacity of Ireland's prisons was for 4,000 people. Today, in 2026, the capacity is for 4,700 people. Clearly, we have had a population increase in those 17 years. We have had a population increase of approximately one million people. I do not believe that building prison space is the solution to our criminal justice issue, but it is certainly important that our prison capacity keeps in line with the growth in our population. Regrettably, it is the case that over the past 15 or 16 years we did not keep growing the prison capacity in the way we should have done for the purpose of ensuring that we did not have overcrowding. I have made it clear that I am determined to drive reform in the area of our prisons, invest in the prison estate and its people and provide for the humane treatment and rehabilitation of all those in custody. Obviously, for the criminal justice system to operate effectively, there have to be consequences for serious criminal behaviour, and the main consequence and penalty we have is incarceration. I also want to ensure that we have a modern, fit-for-purpose prison system that allows staff to work to the best of their abilities. Obviously, increasing capacity is not the only solution to the challenges faced by our prison system. There are other solutions that I am looking at as well. I am pursuing a dual approach to overcrowding by implementing policies aimed at the increased use of non-custodial sanctions to try to reduce offending and divert people away from imprisonment. However, expanding the prison estate to deal with capacity will remain a very significant part of my approach. I cannot respond to the overcrowding issue in prisons without seeking to increase the amount of that capacity that is available. I will deal with the issue of increasing prison capacity. Since 2024, 232 spaces have been constructed across the prison estate; 126 were constructed in 2024 and 106 were constructed in 2025. The majority of them are now in use, and I hope to see another 65 spaces in 2026 and 70 spaces in 2027. On conclusion of the national development plan review in July 2025, I secured a record capital investment of €67.9 million for 2026, as part of a total investment of €500 million from 2026 to 2030. That €500 million is being invested in building projects to further increase capacity, reflecting our commitment to increase prison capacity and modernise the estate with a target of delivering approximately 1,500 spaces by 2031. It will be a very large building programme. It will include a large extension to the existing Cork Prison, a new block in Wheatfield Prison and an additional block at Midlands Prison. This is in addition to spaces at Castlerea, Mountjoy and the Dóchas Centre, where an extension to Rowan House is expected to accommodate 50 female prisoners. I also plan to fund the planning and commencement of construction of a new prison at Thornton in north County Dublin. I have also sought and secured an exemption from what is referred to as the public spending guidelines. That allows me to move straight to approval gate 2, which will considerably expedite the process in terms of getting those prison spaces constructed. The Prison Service also has a very good record in terms of construction on its estates. I have also introduced a pilot structured temporary release scheme for suitable candidates in Limerick women's prison. Recognising the positive impact of the pilot so far, the eligibility criteria for the scheme are now being extended on a phased basis to include more women in the prison. The eligibility criteria for the scheme are now being extended on a phased basis to include more women in prison. There are also many non-custodial alternatives that should be considered by the courts and which I am committed to advancing to ensure that those options are available. One of these is in the legislation I am introducing to increase the maximum number of hours that can be imposed upon the community service order from 240 to 480 hours. That is in the miscellaneous provisions Bill. I will be coming with Committee Stage amendments to that Bill shortly. That will allow for an amendment to oblige the courts to consider a community service order in lieu of a prison sentence of up to 24 months' duration. That will be a positive development. It is a provision that I know, from looking at the probation service and community service orders that operate at present, will be of benefit to those who otherwise may be incarcerated. Every case that results in a community service order will help to free up prison spaces for offenders who genuinely warrant imprisonment. The Probation Service has been engaging with the Judiciary to encourage the use of community service orders rather than the imposition of sentences of 12 months or less, which is the current threshold, and has provided an increase in funding of approximately 13% for the Probation Service in budget 2026. I also approved the publication of the Probation Service's Community Service: New Directions Implementation Plan 2025-2027. This plan aims to drive the delivery and support the increased use of community service as a robust and meaningful alternative to imprisonment. I have also indicated that I am committed to introducing electronic tagging for appropriate categories of prisoners. That will mean they will not have to be in prison but can serve their penalty or the sentence imposed upon them out in the community. Prison staffing is obviously an important issue. Last year, a total of 304 recruit prison officers were recruited by the Irish Prison Service. The pay allocation provided to the Prison Service will allow for the recruitment of up to 100 additional prison officers and up to 50 additional staff, along with a 19% increase in funding to allow for 210,000 additional staff hours. The recruitment programme is proceeding very well. I also want to increase the facility for there to be remote hearings so that prisoners do not have to be brought from prisons for hearings that are interlocutory or preliminary in nature. Those hearings should be conducted remotely. I am interested to hear what Senators have to say in respect of this complex matter. I have no doubt they will be critical of the fact that, at present, prisons are at 123% of capacity. I would like them to know that there is no easy solution. One option that could have been considered was what was done in the UK, which was to introduce an across-the-board reduction in sentences. I was asked to consider other options but did not proceed with them, including granting temporary release to sex offenders and cutting, across the board, the length of sentences imposed. I must also take into account the operation of the criminal justice system. Every day, we see victims who go bravely before the courts, have their cases heard, and a finding of guilt is made for very serious offences against the criminals who have perpetrated violence upon them. There has to be a sanction for those people. If there is not and we are just going to say that we are going to let people out of prison early, it will have a very negative impact on victims and the process of ensuring that people are held to account. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-22