Virtually nowhere for prison officers in Laois to put new prisoners in big Portlaoise jail

Prison officers in Laois are being forced to manage prisoners in a jail that is bursting at the seams in Portlaoise due to a shortage of beds revealed in the latest prison population figures.

Daily population figures published by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) on Thursday, February 2 show that there would be no place for officers to put new prisoners at Ireland's biggest prison in Portlaoise unless the temporary release safety valve was not available.

The latest figures showed that there were 865 prisoners behind bars at the Midland Prison in Portlaoise. The data shows that the jail is at 99% capacity. The IPS figures also reveal that the prison system across Ireland is full.

There would be no available beds for newly jailed inmates if there weren't 27 prisoners on temporary release. The IPS says the total figure that should have been in jail was 903 - the prison has a total of 875 beds.

Meanwhile, there are 213 inmates in the jail next door, the high-security Portlaoise Prison. It has a capacity for 231 prisoners so is 92% capacity.

The situation at the Midlands Prison is mirrored across the system. The IPS reports that jails were at 100% capacity on Thursday with 4,416 in jails with a bed capacity of 4,411. There were 258 prisoners on temporary release.

One prison – Limerick (Female) Prison - has reached high of 164% capacity. 

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) voiced concern in response to published figures showing the number of beds across the Irish prison estate has reached capacity.

It said that to place this level of imprisonment in context, the number of people in Irish prisons was just 750 in 1970; 1,200 in 1980; 2,100 in 1990; and 2,948 in 2000. 

The Trust said that as numbers continue to rise, news of almost 50 people sleeping on mattresses in prison in the last few weeks paints a picture of the extent of the issue. 

The IPRT called on the Minister for Justice to make immediate efforts to adequately resource the proposed actions in the recently published Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform to ultimately reduce the number of people sent to prison and support a move away from responses to offending that cause unnecessary further harm to people and their families.   

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Molly Joyce is the IPRT Acting Executive Director.           

“The Government have indicated that they are committed to exploring the policy of ‘prison as a last resort’ through providing alternatives to prison such as community-based sanctions where appropriate. The policy position is there but we can see by the growth in numbers of people in prison that the policy is far from reality on the ground.  

"While there were some welcome reductions in the use of imprisonment in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, more recent data suggests that this has not been sustained and we are back to business as usual. The amount of people in prison accelerated in 2022 and the numbers are continuing to grow into 2023. 

"This is a watershed moment for Irish prisons. We now have a prison population that is growing at a worrying rate and without strong action from Government the problems caused by this rapid rate of increase will continue. 

“In the short-term the impact of these numbers is on overcrowding. But we risk reaching a point where rehabilitative services cannot be delivered effectively in prisons, which undermines one of the core purposes of imprisonment. The number of people in prison can be reduced now by careful and structured use of temporary and early release measures. In the longer-term, measures to reduce Ireland’s prison population need to be adequately resourced and implemented. 

"We welcome departmental commitments to move away from practices that rely heavily on imprisonment, but for people sitting in overcrowded prisons this week and communities who want to see meaningful change and safer societies, action is needed now. 

"There continues to be an over-reliance on imprisonment for people convicted of less serious offences, despite its damaging social and economic impact on individuals, families, and communities,” she said in a statement. 

IPRT said it is further concerned that the continued delay in publishing the Prison Chaplain Annual Reports for 2021 misses an opportunity to shed light on what is happening on the ground in Irish prisons. Previously published chaplain reports have highlighted various issues within the prison system, including the impact of overcrowding.