In theory, Mountjoy Prison has a maximum capacity for 725 people but is currently holding over 900 inmates.
“For the prison officers and prison staff, it’s a serious issue; the Mountjoy Governor said they had a 20% increase in interventions in 2024.Mountjoy prison in Phibsboro, Dublin. Picture by: Collins Photos.He also noted there is no extra capacity available that would allow the justice system to lock up a significant number of people at short notice.
“They’ve gone from a situation where they had a bit of wiggle room; back in 2022, they were at 86% capacity,” he said. “That means they can respond to incidents - say, if there’s fights or if they need to protect a prison - they have cells to put them into. “Whereas now, they have now over 100 bunk beds; that means you have a small single cell, they take out a single bed and they put in a bunk bed.”Despite this, there have been some improvements made to the prison system over the last number of years; Mr O’Keefe said slopping out - where prisoners have to dispose of their own human waste - is now “more or less gone”.
In the Programme for Government, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have promised to, “Construct a new prison at Thornton Hall, expand existing prison capacity by 1,500 spaces and consider the need for a new Women’s Open Prison.”
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