3. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will respond to reports that women prisoners are being held in degrading and overcrowded conditions in the Dóchas Centre; and whether the Government accepts that continuing to rely on incarceration without sufficient investment in alternatives to custody, risks simply warehousing vulnerable women in the prison system. [20842/26]
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
37. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide an update on plans within the Programme for Government to reintroduce the electronic tagging of prisoners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20723/26]
45. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the plans for the second Cork prison in the Glen. [20918/26]
62. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline his Department’s policy in relation to the use of “electronic tagging” of prisoners, specifically with reference to the acute overcrowding of prisons we are facing; if the number of electronic tags in circulation could be provided for each of the years since the inception of tagging, in tabular form; and if he will mak…
535. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to confirm the security resistance classification and glazing classification which apply for windows installed or to be installed under the National Cell Refurbishment Programme; if EN 14019 is deemed sufficient for high-security detention cells; and if he will make a statement on the matter…
1236. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he has been briefed, in any capacity, on the operation or regulation of the exchange-of-duty system within the Irish Prison Service, including the review of that system referenced in organisational communications in November 2025. [18292/26]
1237. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department or the Irish Prison Service has conducted an internal audit, compliance assessment, or control review of exchange-of-duty practices involving unreciprocated exchanges or private financial arrangements between staff; and, if so, when such review commenced and whether its findings have been finalised. [18293/26]
1292. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the additional block extension at Midlands prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19017/26]
1293. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when the next recruitment campaign for prison officers will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19018/26]
1347. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current process for appointing members to prison visiting committees following the 2023 review of prison visiting committees; whether a panel of applicants is maintained through an expression of interest process; if individuals who previously served on a committee but missed the most recent application deadline can still be con…
1362. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if he will provide the turnover and profits recorded by tuck shops in each State prison in each of the years 2023 to 2025 and to date in 2026; and if his attention, or that of prison officers/management, has been drawn to prisoner complaints that prices in prison tuck shops are unsuitable and or unattainably at the higher end of th…
432. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the level of overcrowding in Limerick prison that is, the capacity of the prison, the current number of prisoners held there either on remand or serving sentences, whether our prisons are in breach of international regulations or Government targets; the steps he will take to alleviate any overcrowding; and if he will make a statem…
262. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Health to clarify the Government's plans to establish "approved centres" within the prison system; and the rationale for such a policy. [17343/26]
673. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to confirm that his Department have carried out a full review of the possible future use of the Old Cork Prison which is now vacant for a number of years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16972/26]
202. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prison places per capita in the Mid-West for the years 2014, 2019, 2024 and 2026 in a tabular a tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15426/26]
762. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide the most recent statistics on the number and rate of self-harm episodes recorded in Irish prisons, broken down by gender and prison estate. [14566/26]
763. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the rate of self-harm among female prisoners compared to male prisoners in the most recent Irish Prison Service self-harm assessment data. [14567/26]
764. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the protocols that are in place for comprehensive screening of mental health and self-harm risk at committal, including ADHD and autism; and how continuity of care is ensured for those who repeatedly self-harm or are transferred or released. [14568/26]
765. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of individuals engaged in repeated self-harm in the latest reporting period; and the specific support services (including psychological and counselling services) that are provided to support these prisoners; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14569/26]
781. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prisoners currently in prison who have previously served time in prison. [14846/26]
791. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of drug finds in each prison for each of the past ten years; the estimated value of these drugs finds in each prison for each of the past ten years; the number of persons who have been convicted for these drugs finds in each prison for each of the past ten years; and the number of Irish Prison Service staff who have been c…
792. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of phones and illegal contraband which have been found in each prison for each of the past five years; the number of persons who have been convicted for these drugs finds in each prison for each of the past ten years; and the number of Irish Prison Service staff who have been convicted for these finds in each prison for ea…
901. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the date for publication of the death in custody report from the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, sent to his Department in July 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12050/26]
794. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the procurement reference number, procurement route, and approval pathway used by the Irish Prison Service for each engagement with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets between 1 January 2020 and 30 September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9403/26]
795. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to specify, for each engagement by the Irish Prison Service with podcasts, influencers, or media outlets since 1 January 2020, whether the expenditure was procured through an Office of Government Procurement framework, an open competitive process, a competitive quotation process, or a sole supplier arrangement; and if he will provide t…