Prison Service

442. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he is aware that dog handlers who are not homeowners are being redeployed within the Prison Service due to being unable to fulfil the new requirement to home kennel the dog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49713/25]

443. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if there is an appeals mechanism available to an individual employed within the Prison Service as a dog handler who has had to forfeit their position as a dog handler due to them not being able to kennel the dog at home as they not a homeowner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49714/25]

865. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2024, noting 213 prisoners sleeping on cell floors representing a 150–156% annual increase, the daily average population versus design capacity in 2024 and 2025 to date; the implementation timeline, monthly targets, and KPIs for electronic monitoring for bail, post-r…

867. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if she will publish the number of prisoners sleeping on mattresses on cell floors in each prison; the number of bail-eligible prisoners held on remand due to the absence of electronic tagging or community supervision; and the Department’s specific 2025 targets for expanding electronic monitoring, including procureme…

868. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if she will provide the average and maximum time spent on remand since 2020; the proportion of remand prisoners subsequently convicted of non-custodial offences; and the Department’s current policy on crediting time served on remand towards sentence calculation, by prison. [48136/25]

869. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of committals to prison in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, by sentence length; and the number of individuals committed to prison in 2023, 2024, and to date in 2025 who have served or are serving their first custodial sentence in Ireland. [48160/25]

870. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total number of people remanded to custody in 2024 and to date in 2025. [48161/25]

871. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people remanded to custody who did not receive a sentence of imprisonment, either through no conviction or through receiving a sentence less than imprisonment in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48162/25]

872. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people remanded to custody and sentenced to prison, and who were released immediately due to having already served their sentence on remand in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48163/25]

873. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of instances where a prisoner held solely on remand shared a cell with a convicted prisoner in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2025 by prison, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48164/25]

874. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the average amount of time that prisoners, not including those on restricted regimes, could spend outside of their cells each day, by prison, by quarter in 2022, 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48165/25]

935. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of reported sexual assaults in Irish prisons, by prison and location of the reported assault in each prison such as cell, yard, landing, workshop, for each year 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49012/25]

936. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the process for handling suspected and reported sexual assaults in Irish prisons; the number of instances of that process being instigated in each year from 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025; the outcome of each instance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49013/25]

937. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 680 of 24 June 2025, the number of instances where a 23 or 24 hour restricted regime was in place for a period of 15 consecutive days or longer in each year 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025; if this information is unavailable, the way in which he is satisfied, and the public ass…

938. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of complaints made by prisoners regarding alleged discrimination, in the years 2022 to 2024 and to date in 2025; the measures taken by the Irish Prison Service in 2024 and to date in 2025 to prevent discrimination within Irish prisons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49015/25]

939. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons who have been placed in prisons pending their deportation from the State since September 2024, by month and place of detention. [49016/25]

1451. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the one year post release re-offending rates for prisoners and those in custody, broken down by those aged under 18; aged 18-24; 25 to 34-34 to 50; 50 -64; 65 and over, by gender, in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44489/25]

1567. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures being taken to address the current overcrowding in Cork Prison, which is operating at 133% of its capacity with 98 prisoners without access to beds; and if he will confirm the contingency plans in place to ensure humane and safe treatment of all prisoners. [45531/25]

1568. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in view of the fact the national prison system is accommodating almost 900 more inmates than its designed capacity, the Government’s strategic plan to resolve this overcrowding including whether it plans to expand existing facilities, construct new accommodation and increase the use of alternatives such as communit…

1569. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the statistics on the proportion of the prison population held on remand pending trial compared with convicted prisoners; and the reforms being considered to reduce remand numbers particularly for non-violent offences, through measures such as bail reform or expanded use of community-based alternatives. [45533/25]

1570. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department has implemented in whole or in part, the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice in respect of a decarceration strategy, and if so, the impacts to date on occupancy levels and recidivism. [45534/25]

1571. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he has commissioned or received evidence regarding increased assaults or risks to prison officers as a result of overcrowding in Irish prisons; and the measures being taken to safeguard the health, welfare, and safety of prison staff under such conditions. [45535/25]

1572. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department is examining international best practice in prison design and management, such as the adoption of normalisation models and architectural reforms that have been linked with improved rehabilitation outcomes; and if he intends to pilot such approaches in the State. [45536/25]

1573. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his plans to balance the Government’s aim of penal reform and reduction of prison overcrowding with the need to protect the public, safeguard victims of crime, and maintain public confidence in the justice system. [45537/25]

1686. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the risk assessment process undertaken by the Irish Prison Service in advance of requiring prisoners to share cells with one another; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46959/25]