‘A tragic event’: Hundreds sleeping on mattresses on the floor in Irish prisons tonight

Over 400 prisoners in Ireland will sleep on mattresses on the floor tonight, Friday’s Irish prison service figures reveal. 

Limerick prison is experiencing the highest level of overcrowding -  operating at 145% of its capacity in the female ward. 

The female wing of the prison has just 56 beds to facilitate its current 118 prisoners. 

Portlaoise prison is also currently experiencing a high volume of overcrowding. 

The prison currently hosts 1,116 prisoners, despite having a bed capacity for 891 inmates. 

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Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has committed to a target of delivering an extra 1,595 prison spaces between now and 2031. However, there is a current surplus of 1,515 prisoners in the prison system as of October 17, 2025. 

Tony Power, the President of the Prison Officers’ Association, has warned that the current levels of overcrowding could lead to a tragedy. 

In an interview with the Irish Times, Mr Power said: “I don’t want to sound alarmist, but if we don’t find an immediate solution to this problem, we will have a tragic event or some form of crisis on all our hands.”

The Irish Prison service commented in response to the problem: “The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.”

Labour TD Conor Sheehan has stated regarding the overcrowding: “Instead of packing more and more people into overcrowded cells, Government must invest in mental health, addiction, and rehabilitation services to help people rebuild their lives and break the cycle of reoffending.”

In 2024, the national rate of prisoners sleeping on mattresses increased by 156%, while the intake of prisoners rose by almost 10% in comparison to 2023’s figures.

Should Ireland's prison population increase at its current rate, it is unclear if Minister O'Callaghan's 2031 target is ambitious enough to adequately house Ireland's prison population.