Prisons in Ireland are one of the main forms of punishment, rehabilitation, or both for the commission of an indictable offense and other offenses.

Authority

In 1925, shortly after the establishment of the Irish Free State, Minister for Justice, Kevin O'Higgins, introduced legislation repealing the existing ability of grand juries to appoint visiting committees to prisons within the state. Instead, the authority to appoint the members of prison visiting committees was vested solely in the person of the Minister.Prisons (Visiting Committees) Act, 1925. Similarly, the management of the prison system within the Irish Free State passed to the control of the minister with the dissolution by statutory instrument of the General Prisons Board for Ireland (the G.P.B.) in 1928.S.I. No. 79/1928 — General Prisons Board (Transfer of Functions) Order, 1928. The G.P.B. had been an all-Ireland body. Thus, by this date, both the responsibility and control over the management and oversight of the prison service within the Irish Free State was held within the Minister's department.

This situation remained unchanged until 1999 when the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, John O'Donoghue, established the Irish Prison Service to which was delegated the task of managing the day-to-day running of the prison system. Simultaneously in 1999, a Prisons Authority Interim Board was established and its members were appointed by the Minister in 2000. The purpose of this board was to advise the director general and directors of the Irish Prison Service on the management of the penal system. In 2002 the retired High Court Judge, Dermot Kinlen, was appointed the state's first Inspector of Irish Prisons. However, none of these new bodies was ever established on a statutory basis despite indications to the contrary. Indeed, as recently as January 2011, Dermot Ahern informed the (Parliament) that:

In 2025, the Irish Prison Service had an annual budget of €525 million. As of year ending 2023 it had a staff of 3,547 people.

EuroPris and the European Union Ireland is a member of the European Union and the EuroPris system. Being a member of this system requires abolition of the death penalty and the provision of humane prison conditions. The goal of the Europris system is to ensure cooperation between European prison systems which aims to improve the lives of prisoner and their families, growing public safety and security, and reducing the re-offending rate.

Prison services The Irish prison system attempts to educate inmates and give them opportunities to avoid recidivism. The system provides multiple forms of education including vocational, life skills, basic education, healthy living, and technology education. The system also provides opioid addiction treatment facilities that covers at least 80% of the Irish prison population. They also ready the inmates for reintegration and resettlement back into society and provide mental health and health services for the inmates.

Prison population rate As of May 2025, the prison population in Ireland was 6,129 which is 115% of designed capacity which is 4,666. The service aims to open another 1500 beds. As of May 2025 the latest available official statistics are at year ending 2023. In January 2023, the incarceration rate was approximately 89 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The proportions in the prison population are: 15.8% are pre-trial and remand prisoners, 4.3% are females, and 12.3% of the prisoners are foreign.

Prisons and prison population

There are 13 prisons in Ireland with a total bed capacity of 4,666 as of 16 May 2025 however, most of these prisons operate at or above capacity with the average capacity of a prison being 115%.

Sentencing

In 2023 there were 6,495 committals to prisons in Ireland, which is an increase of 11.9% on 2022 when the equivalent figure was 5,801 committals.

Cost of placement

The average cost to incarcerate a person in a prison in 2023 was €88,523 per annum. This was an increase of 5.3% on the 2022 cost which was €84,067.

Active prisons

+ Prisons in Ireland: Operational Capacity and Daily Average Number of Prisoners in Custody 2023PrisonLocationYear openedTypeSecuritySentencedRemandAge RangeSpecial FeaturesServicing Area ofMale CapacityFemale CapacityDaily Average Number (Male)Daily Average Number (Female) Mountjoy Prison Dublin 7 1850 Closed Medium 18+ None Dublin City 755 0 784 0 Dóchas Centre Dublin 7 1999 Closed Medium 18+ None National (except Munster) 0 146 0 165Training UnitDublin 71974Semi-OpenLow18+Facility for older male inmatesNational960950 Cork PrisonIn 1806 a military barracks with a prison attached was opened by the British government on Rathmore Road, Cork City. Following independence in 1922 the control of this institution was taken over by the Irish Government and renamed Collins Barracks. It remained in the possession of the Irish Army until 1972 when it was handed over to the Department of Justice who returned the facility to use as a civil prison. It opened as a committal prison after considerable refurbishment in 1983. Cork City 2016 Closed Medium 18+ None Cork, Kerry, Waterford 296 0 306 0 Limerick PrisonAlthough built between 1815 and 1821 much of this facility has undergone extensive renovation of late. Many but not all of the old wings have been knocked down and replaced with new units providing for modern sanitation facilities. The original female section of the prison is generally not used except in cases of severe overcrowding, as a new modern female unit has been constructed. Mulgrave Street, Limerick 1822 (Original Facility) 2023 (Modern Facilities) Closed Medium 18+ None Males: Clare, Limerick, Tipperary. Females: Munster 286 56 293 49 Castlerea PrisonCastlerea opened as a district mental hospital from 1939. Operating for short periods as a tuberculosis sanitorium, it remained open as a hospital until 1994 during which time it was renamed as St. Patrick's Hospital. Following its closure as hospital a small number of prisoners were accepted into the facility in 1996 but work was not completed on the construction of the main cell blocks until 1998. Castlerea, County Roscommon 1996 Closed Medium 18+ None Connacht, Cavan, Donegal, Longford 340 0 369 0 Cloverhill PrisonThis is a purpose built "remand" prison and holds most of the male remand prisoners in the state. It is adjacent to the Wheatfield prison and shares many services with this institution. Cloverhill, Dublin 22 1999 Closed Medium 18+ None Leinster (primarily) 433 0 460 0 Wheatfield Prison Cloverhill, Dublin 22 1989 Closed Medium 18+ None Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Wexford, Wicklow 610 0 571 0 Portlaoise PrisonThe "E" block of Portlaoise Prison was built in 1902 on the site of an old county jail which had originally been built in 1830. The prison site consisted of 36 acres, 30 acres of which was farmland. Due to security concerns the farm ceased to function in the 1970s and currently hosts the Midlands Prison. From 1923 Portlaoise Prison was designated as convict prison (i.e. those sentenced to penal servitude understood as those serving sentences ranging from three years to life). In November 1972 the prison population then resident in the institution were dispersed to other institutions, principally Mountjoy Prison. In 1973 it ceased to be a convict prison and was instead designated as a high security prison to house subversive prisoners. In tandem with this change in status, army and police personnel were stationed in the grounds of the prison to augment the prison staff. Portlaoise, County Laois 1902 Closed High 18+ For those sentenced in the Special Criminal Court; subversive crime National 229 0 224 0 Arbour Hill Prisonthe original Arbour Hill Hospital and Prison was built in 1797 at the site of the modern day St. Bricin's Military Hospital. The hospital was subsequently modified and renamed the King George V Hospital. The prison was moved to its current location in Arbour Hill and built between 1845–48. Following independence control of the institution was transferred to the Department of Defence. It served as a military prison until 1973 when the institution was passed over to the control of the Department of Justice and in 1975 it was reopened as a civilian prison. The majority of the prisoners in this institution have been convicted of sexual offences. Dublin 7 1848 (Original Facility) 1975 (Civilian Prison) Closed Medium 17+ Sexual offenders; long term sentences National 137 0 134 0 Midlands PrisonThe Midlands Prison was built adjacent to Portlaoise Prison with which it shares some facilities. It was built as a public-private partnership for a cost of £46 million Irish punts. It is not a committal prison as all prisoners are transferred here from other prisons. Although there are a tiny number of prisoners in the population who are awaiting trial the vast majority of prisoners have been sentenced. Portlaoise, County Laois 2000 Closed Medium 17+ None Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Monaghan, Wexford, Wicklow 874 0 914 0 Loughan HouseLoughan House was built in 1953 as a noviciate for the White Friar Fathers Missionary Congregation. In 1972 the 47-acre site was sold to the Department of Justice and it opened as a penal institute for young male offenders aged between sixteen and twenty-three years old in 1973. Dating from 1978 it was used as a juvenile detention centre for male offenders aged between twelve and sixteen years old. From 1983 it has served as an open centre for male prisoners aged over eighteen years old. County Cavan 1973 Open Low 18+ None National 140 0 120 0 Shelton AbbeyThis institution, located near Arklow in County Wicklow, was previously the home of Lord and Lady Wicklow before it was acquired by the state in the early 1950s. In 1972 it was purchased by the Department of Justice and since 1973 it has continuously operated as an open detention centre. Arklow, County Wicklow 1973 Open Low 19+ None National 115 0 98 0 One reason Ireland has a successful recidivism programme is the educational opportunities they provide while prisoners are serving a sentence. During a sentence, an inmate has access to a wide variety of classes, as well as personal tutoring services to help them succeed in their classes. These classes include home economics, art, pottery, photography, drama and music, crafts, technology, horticulture, and lastly science programs. There are also instructional technology courses available at certain facilities. If inmates do decide to attend classes, this allows them to be excused from some of the work duties that are required by the prison each day. All of this is provided through the Department of Justice and the Irish Vocational Education Committee. To decide what classes each inmate should enroll in, each inmate goes through an interviewing process. This helps the inmates because it gives them a personalized schedule that they would not be able to make on their own. Participating inmates are interviewed on a weekly basis to see if they are struggling in any classes. This allows the program to be more successful because if an inmate is having any trouble in their classes it is to be assessed right away so they can get the help they need to get back on track (Literacy Work in Prison).

Future