362. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of babies that have been born to mothers in custody in Dochas Centre and Limerick Prison in 2025 and to date in 2026; and the protocols and supports in place for mothers and babies in custody. [75287/26]
Topics / Prison Service
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsPrison Service
493 questions from 78 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
493
questions
486 written, 7 oral
78
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
7
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 9 |
| February 2025 | 27 |
| March 2025 | 14 |
| April 2025 | 23 |
| May 2025 | 23 |
| June 2025 | 25 |
| July 2025 | 51 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 46 |
| October 2025 | 25 |
| November 2025 | 31 |
| December 2025 | 24 |
| January 2026 | 37 |
| February 2026 | 19 |
| March 2026 | 18 |
| April 2026 | 16 |
| May 2026 | 65 |
| June 2026 | 11 |
| July 2026 | 12 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 8 |
| October 2026 | 9 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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77
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71
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44
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35
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24
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21
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17
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14
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
365. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average proportion of a custodial sentence actually served in prison by persons who self-identify as Irish nationals compared with non-Irish nationals, in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 and to date in 2026; and whether these figures can be provided by sentence length, offence category and type of early release; in tabular fo…
4. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the proposed process and timeline for the two new prisons in the Glen, Cork city. [70856/26]
10. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of Irish citizens and non-Irish citizens who are currently prisoners within the Irish prison system; and a breakdown of all prisoners' nationalities. [69742/26]
31. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the review carried out into the prison system with a view to improving prisoner welfare, education programmes and recidivism rates. [69786/26]
49. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current status of plans for a large extension to the existing Cork Prison on the site of the old decommissioned Cork Prison which has been vacant for a number of years. [70268/26]
53. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if the Irish Prison Service has the technology to identify and track drones at the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise; if the necessary software has been installed; and if so, if staff trained to use it. [69302/26]
65. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on his plans for Thornton Hall; and projected timeframe for same. [69725/26]
72. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is aware of work ongoing in the Cork Detention Barracks; the nature of the work; and the amount that has been spent in the past 12-months in the building. [70549/26]
565. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 806 of 16 September 2026, (details supplied), to identify the statutory, delegated, assigned or administrative basis for that vesting in respect of prison-grade staff; the date it took effect; whether the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation or…
437. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prisoners actively following a course with the Open University at the present time in each institution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66872/26]
281. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to advise if there are protocols for prisoners during their time in prison for a crime (details supplied) regarding access to the public, being in public-facing environments and being in less secure areas with prison officers, such as staff canteens.
[66065/26]
287. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide details of the costs incurred to date, together with the total estimated expenditure for phases 1 and 2, of the development at Castlerea Prison, including the provision of four modular six-bedroom houses, an additional ancillary services building and the construction of 21 lower-security units at The Grove, includi…
288. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the budgeted cost of demolishing the old Cork Prison buildings, including all associated preparatory and clearance works. [66288/26]
806. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in circumstances where the Irish Prison Service has not been established on a statutory basis, the person or body that constituted the 'relevant authority' under the Department of Finance Circular 22/2007 for determining an application by a prison officer for retirement on grounds of ill health since 2019; the authority to make the fin…
956. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the appointment of a visiting committee member for Cork Prison. [65612/26]
967. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he is aware of work ongoing in the Cork Detention Barracks; the nature of the work; and the amount that has been spent in the past 12-months in the building. [65814/26]
421. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the country of birth of each prisoner in the Prison Service, by violent crime and nonviolent crime. [54614/26]
429. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the funding needs identified by the Irish Prison Service to meet current and projected service demands, including prisoner numbers, staffing and infrastructure requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54671/26]
298. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prisoners under 21 years-of-age; the number in each institution; the number of such prisoners who are on restricted regimes; the number of hours, each day, such prisoners are confined to their cells; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53826/26]
577. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether, in line with the recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to Ireland in July 2025, in which it recommended the establishment of open prisons for women (details supplied), the Government has plans to establish an open prison for women, similar to Shelton Abbey and Loughan House;…
364. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide details on the total cost of phase one of the development at The Grove, Castlerea Prison, including all associated planning, construction, consultancy, and related project costs; the total projected cost of phase two of the Grove development, including all associated planning, construction, consultancy, and relate…
365. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total cost of the construction works and modular units provided at Castlerea Prison, Loughan House Open Centre, and Shelton Abbey Open Centre, with the costs broken down on a site-by-site basis and including all associated planning, construction, consultancy, and related project costs; the total cost of the construction and reno…
366. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the projected cost of demolishing the old Cork Prison site, including all associated preparatory, environmental, safety, consultancy, and site clearance works required to render the site safe and fully prepared prior to the commencement of the new construction works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50524/26]
367. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total cost incurred to date by the Irish Prison Service in respect of the Organisation Dashboard Project; the costs associated with consultancy services, including payments made to a company (details supplied) and any other external providers; the costs on software development and procurement, software licensing, project managem…