End prison expansion

The prison system is in crisis. Building more prison spaces, when the prison population has exceeded 5,000 people for the first time in the history of the State, shows a lack of imagination and a lack of commitment to community safety.  The Government claims that overcrowding and future population growth are the primary reasons for adding 1,100 prison spaces by 2030.  But this rate of growth is three times higher than even the most optimistic population projection (see table below). The prison crisis is years in the making.  It has been created by “law and order” rhetoric, poor political decisions, increased length of sentences, and stubborn resistance to non-prison alternatives.

Demographic trends are useful for planning schools, hospitals and homes but not for prisons. Building prisons is always a political choice not a demographic necessity. Flawed and misleading demographic arguments are being used to legitimise putting more people in prison for longer. International evidence shows that more prisons will only create more prisoners.

The content of political and media messaging is driving this too. The public is being asked to accept that prisons are full of dangerous people; that by sending them to prison, society will be protected and our communities safer. While some individuals may pose a threat to society, most do not and we should not plan big infrastructure and societal solutions around a “dangerous few.” Most prisoners come from a small number of very deprived neighbourhoods; have left school early and lack basic literacy skills. Many are homeless prior to going into prison and will be released into homelessness. The vast majority of prisoners also have addiction or mental health problems, and are likely to experience severe deterioration of these while in prison. They will then be released into under-resourced communities, and so the cycle continues.

There are serious problems with the Irish prison system and its institutions. There is an absence of accountability and transparency. An investigative report into serious misconduct in a female prison remains unpublished. The current complaints system operated by the Irish Prison Service lacks independence and credibility. Of the 152 Category A complaints - assault, excessive force, racial abuse, ill-treatment etc. - received in 2021 and 2022, only one was upheld by the Irish Prison Service. The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is unable to publish inspection reports and death in custody investigations directly.  A recent inspection report was redacted by the Minister for Justice prior to publication. Prisons are also places of death. Accountability is necessary for families when death occurs. To date, however, of the 62 deaths in Irish prisons between 2019 and 2023, 41 families still await a coroner’s inquest. The Irish Government has received criticism from various international rights and anti-torture bodies for its treatment of those with severe mental illness who are imprisoned. 

Ireland’s institutional past should give us pause to reflect meaningfully on the role of prison. What are the resonances of industrial schools, mother and baby homes, enforced committals to psychiatric hospitals within our current prisons?  Like those institutions, prisons operate without transparency or accountability. They contain poorer and marginalised people. They exact serious harm on people who would be better supported via non-custodial alternatives, housing, and high-quality, community-based addiction and mental health supports. Instead of “law and order” rhetoric, we need a new approach based on different values.

The next Government should enact an immediate prison moratorium to cease the building of new prisons, additional prison wings, and the re-opening of previously closed prisons. Proposals such as the construction of a new prison at the Thornton Hall site in Dublin, or the reopening of the previously closed prisons in Cork and the Curragh should be shelved, along with the development of additional spaces in existing prisons. A moratorium should not prevent essential repairs or the upgrade of cells to beyond minimum human rights standards.  The Government must acknowledge that we have too many prison spaces already, with the moratorium as a first step towards the closure of prisons, followed by the development of a future plan to realistically work towards this goal. 

Planned future capital funding for prison expansion up to 2030 should be ring fenced for alternatives approaches, community development, and community reinvestment. In 2024 to 2026, the €159 million budgeted for prison expansion could be reallocated to the expansion of residential addiction treatment, Housing First programmes, diversion programmes, community services, and/or apprenticeships.

A future protocol can be developed to realistically work towards the closure of prisons.