Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Lynn Ruane (IND), University of Dublin

I move amendment No. 1:
In page 9, to delete lines 15 to 18.
Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive - are being considered together because they relate to the deletion of all sections of the Bill that provide for the introduction of the use of incapacitant spray, or pepper spray, by members of the Irish Prison Service, IPS. In that context, I take this opportunity to indicate our opposition to section 5. We believe this is a retrograde and counterproductive step that is likely to negatively impact relations between prison staff and those in custody in Irish prisons, destabilising and undermining relationships that rely on trust and harmony. Ireland is one of a handful of European countries where prison officers are not currently equipped with these sprays, or, indeed, with other weapons, relying instead on their capacity to manage and de-escalate conflict without the use of force or violence. This is much like the majority of gardaí not being equipped with weapons or pepper spray. Ireland's model of policing is by consent, and we should strive to protect that.
While the assumed intention behind the introduction of incapacitant sprays is to promote greater safety in our prisons, it is clear from examining the findings in other jurisdictions that the introduction does not positively impact levels of violence in prisons and, in actual fact, can have the opposite effect. Looking to the UK, studies have demonstrated that the disproportionate use of PAVA, a type of incapacitant spray, against minority communities in prisons in the UK, including black, Muslim and disabled prisoners, has the effect of normalising the use of violence against particular groups within the prison environment. Being within the prison environment negatively impacts the health and well-being of those in custody, especially when the environment is as chronically overcrowded to the extent that the Irish prisons are at the moment. Adding chemical irritants into mix is a cause for grave concern, given that the chemical irritants can lead to severe health consequences, including death. It is essential to consider the vulnerability of specific individuals to these chemicals especially in enclosed and overcrowded spaces.
The future prison capacity working group report, published in July last year, highlighted compromised safety and security in Irish prisons, primarily as a result of chronic overcrowding. Irish prisons are severely overcrowded, routinely operating at 120%, or higher, of the network's capacity. Significant numbers of people in custody are sleeping on cell floors. This is in contravention of both IPS and Council of Europe committee for the prevention of torture safe standards and best practice.
Looking again at the UK, research undertaken in England and Wales by the Ministry of Justice has highlighted the link between overcrowding and a rise in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, with prisoners in overcrowded cells being 19% more likely to be involved in an assault. The most recent data on the rates of violent incidents and assaults released by the IPS highlights notable fluctuations during 2023 and 2024. The data demonstrate that there has been a reported 3% decrease in direct physical assaults by prisoners on prison staff, while aggressive and threatening incidents have fallen by 8%. Physical interventions in prisons, where staff must intervene physically, are down by 25%. These figures suggest some improvement in the safety of the prison environment for staff.
There has been a concerning 31% increase in the number of direct physical assaults by prisoners on other prisoners over the same period, which is a significant rise. Upon closer examination of the data, it becomes evident that the trends are firmly established in Irish prisons. Figures released by the IPS in 2023 indicated a 14% reduction in the number of physical assaults by prisoners on staff between 2022 and 2023 but, conversely, a significant rise in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults was observed, with an increase of 74%.
The 31% increase in prison-on-prisoner assaults in Ireland in 2024 further underscores the correlation between overcrowding and rising violence in the Irish context. How incapacitant sprays will positively interrupt this trend is entirely unclear. Indeed, even the Department of justice in its own policy paper acknowledges the fact that international evidence demonstrates that the introduction of incapacitant sprays in custodial sentences is likely to cause an increase in the number of use-of-force events in Irish prisons.
In this context, we fundamentally disagree with the introduction of incapacitant sprays in custodial settings and are therefore seeking the outright deletion of the relevant sections, as was sought by the justice committee. It is important. I regard the Minister as quite a logical man. Overcrowding is the reason we may see an increase in prisoner-on-prisoner violence. The response is to introduce another layer of violence, that is, incapacitant sprays, into the mix rather than reducing the number of people who are in prison.
When we reduce the number of prisoners in prison settings, violence decreases. The most logical thing to do would be to ensure the large number of people currently in prisons for minor convictions - up to 70% of prisoners are sent to prison for minor convictions - would not be in prison for those convictions. Can the House imagine that we only have 30% of prison space left for more serious crimes? If we freed up the rest of the space, we would not be talking about introducing incapacitant sprays or weapons or anything like that which can be used. We would be looking at more positive interventions.
Rather than thinking of it as a safety concern and deciding that because of overcrowding or prisoner-on-prisoner violence we need incapacitant sprays, I ask the Minister to consider that the answer is to reduce the number of people in prisons so that the relationship between prison officers and prisoners can be further enhanced. The success of an institution like a prison is based on how you build relationships; it is relationship-based. When there is a potential threat between a prison officer and a person incarcerated in prison, the idea that somebody could reach for incapacitant spray interrupts the potential relationships that could be built between prison officers and those in prison. We could do things that would have a much longer and more sustainable impact on how people and prison officers experience their time in prison, and on how people integrate back into society. If you have endured incapacitant spray within prison, you will have even less trust for authority than you had when you went in.
I ask the Minister to consider whether these are logical, evidence-based responses to the issues of overcrowding and over-use of short sentences within the Irish prison system.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24