Advisory group recommends closure of Arbour Hill prison

RTÉ News​

2 days ago

The closure of the country's main prison for housing sex offenders has been recommended as a top priority by a group established to advise the Government on future prison capacity needs.
A report by the group has called for the decommissioning of the prison at Arbour Hill in Dublin, which currently houses around 135 long-term prisoners, over the coming decade, although it accepted that it would require "a suitable replacement facility".
It has also recommended that priority should also be given to returning Mountjoy Prison to single cell occupancy which would require around 210 prisoners currently housed in shared cells to be accommodated elsewhere.
Given problems with overcrowding across the country's prison network, the group urged the Government to urgently explore opportunities to accelerate existing plans for large-scale capital projects and recommended fast-tracking such developments by seeking exemptions from normal funding timescales.
It said consideration should be given to prioritising further development of Portlaoise Prison as well as the proposed expansion of the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.
The report noted that there was potential for new prison facilities at Thornton Hall in north Dublin and the redevelopment of the old Cork Prison site.
On Arbour Hill, the report said that despite its drug-free status and low level of assaults, the age of the prison and the fact that the majority of its buildings are protected structures meant the possibilities for future development were "extremely limited."
It noted that the prison has a mix of single and double occupancy cells and although in-cell toilet facilities have been provided, they are not partitioned.
The report revealed that the country's prisons were operating at 12% above capacity at the start of 2025, despite some 300 extra prison spaces having been added in recent years.
It also observed that the number of assaults on prisoners by other inmates rose by 31% last year against a background of overcrowding in Irish prisons.
The highest number of people ever in prisons to date was reached on 15 April 2025 when the prison population was recorded at 5,394 including 276 women.
The official prison capacity at the end of 2024 was 4,531, while it is estimated the prison population is likely to exceed 6,000 by 2035.
The report observed that some of the worst overcrowding is in the two female prisons with the Dóchas Centre in Mountjoy operating at 32% above capacity.
However, the female prison in Limerick is the most overcrowded facility in the network of prisons at 48% above capacity.
For that reason, it recommended that consideration be given to increasing capacity at the two female prisons together with tailored initiatives to support women in the community.
The report acknowledged that overcrowding in prisons poses a variety of risks including increased violence and assaults on staff and other prisoners and higher levels of contraband as well as unstructured early releases.
It said the Irish Prison Service's current capital plan had the potential to accommodate 1,100 additional prisoners between 2024 and 2030 if fully funded with 230 expected to be available by the end of the current year.
If fully implemented, it means the prison system will have capacity for 5,614 prisoners by 2030 if all existing prisons remain in use.
The group has also called for a pilot project to examine the possibility of housing being built on existing prison lands or close to prisons given the very significant challenges identified by released prisoners finding accommodation and the related impact on recidivism levels.
Other recommendations include a call for further consideration to be given to the potential requirement for an additional remand facility given the numbers on remand have been rising at a faster rate than the general prison population and the limited capacity to increase numbers at the main remand facility at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin.
The group also proposed the establishment of a dedicated medical unit in Mountjoy as well as examining the potential of Mountjoy to pilot a day prison model
While the report acknowledged that work was already underway to create additional facilities for elderly prisoners and those with additional medical care needs, the group said it held the strong view that some prisoners should not be kept in a prisoner environment and should be moved to appropriate community facilities.
Figures show the annual cost of housing a prisoner was just over €99,000 last year with each additional 100 prisoners estimated at approximately €10 million annually.
The group was established in July 2024 by former Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to examine the infrastructural needs of Ireland's prison system out to 2035.
While the report said it was "notoriously difficult" to predict the size of prison populations, it noted that an increase in violent and drug-related crimes meant more prisoners require addictions and mental health support with the need for cross-departmental approaches to address such challenges.
It stressed that putting people in prison is an expensive option and alternatives exist which are "both more cost effective and provide better and more sustainable outcomes".