460. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the current prison population in Ireland, in comparison to the average daily population in 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5161/26]
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
461. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the average cost of keeping a person in prison custody in each of the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; if an explanation for any discrepancy in these statistics will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5162/26]
462. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the prisons and detention services in Ireland, reflecting in each instance the capacity, the number of persons detained, the number of staff assigned, the minimum number of staff on duty at any given time, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5163/26]
463. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the annual cost of keeping a person in custody in each of the prisons and detention centres in the country, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5164/26]
464. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prisoners in Ireland that are currently kept in cells without in-cell sanitation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5168/26]
465. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the position regarding the number of cells in operation today in both prisons and places of detention in Ireland that do not have in-cell sanitation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5169/26]
751. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons currently in prison serving short sentences; the number of persons currently on remand in prison; the number of those persons on remand in prison who were already in prison serving a sentence for another offence; the length of time they have been in custody, broken down by 0–1 years, 1–2 years, 2–5 years, over …
451. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on new prison scoping and the way in which his Department is addressing prison overcrowding. [2995/26]
453. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people committed to prison from Waterford courts in each year 2020 to 2025, broken down by offence type, in tabular form. [3015/26]
454. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of people released from prison to rehabilitative services in Waterford in each year 2020 to 2025, in tabular form. [3016/26]
1642. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total number of prisoners given a custodial short-term sentence under 18 months; and for a breakdown of the number of prisoners serving sentences under 18 months in the format under 3, under 6, under 9, 12 and under 18 months for each of the past five years, in tabular form. [74307/25]
1654. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures he will take to reduce the number of people in prison on short term sentences of less than 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [74551/25]
1725. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he has taken to address Mountjoy Prison inmates' complaints about the unavailability of gluten-free food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1302/26]
1726. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he has taken to address Mountjoy Prison inmates' complaints about the food standards in the prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1303/26]
1727. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he has taken to address insect infestations in Mountjoy Prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1304/26]
1728. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he has taken to address issues raised in the annual report of the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee (MPVC) 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1305/26]
1729. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the current prison population in each Irish Prison Service centre; the capacity of each, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1306/26]
1730. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he has taken, or intends to take to address prison overcrowding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1307/26]
1731. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the existing rehabilitative programmes and services available in each prison or detention centre, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1308/26]
1732. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps he will take to increase the number of rehabilitative programmes and services available in Irish prisons and detention centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1309/26]
578. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to publish the current number of prisoners in each prison, broken down by gender; to outline the plans under the Future Prison Capacity Working Group established in 2024 to increase prison capacity in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73746/25]
669. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if the proposed new wing, for the planned extension at Midlands Prison in Portlaoise recently approved by Cabinet as part of a fast-tracked expansion, is to be constructed on the site currently occupied by the prison's award-winning horticulture facility; if so, the rationale for dismantling a nationally-recognised rehabilitation and e…
719. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of prisoners who were granted temporary release in each of the past five years; of those, the number who committed a criminal offence while on temporary release; the breakdown of such offences by category for example, violent, property and drug-related; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71952/25]
732. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the publication of the latest Inspector of Prisons report into Cork Prison. [72097/25]
733. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on plans for a second prison in the Glen; and whether he has met with the community on same. [72098/25]