Ireland's prisons are reaching breaking point
OVERCROWDING in Irish prisons is spiralling out of control, in what experts are calling a national 'crisis'.
With facilities operating at nearly 120% capacity, over 400 inmates are currently sleeping on floors.
This mirrors a broader trend across Europe, where the prison population grew by almost 4% in 2023 alone.
Tougher sentencing laws and years of underinvestment in prison infrastructure have all added to the problems facing the prison service today.
While the government has announced plans to build 1,500 additional spaces, insiders and unions warn that construction delays and rising inmate numbers mean this alone won't solve the problem.
'The system is beyond stretched. Staff shouldn't be working in these conditions,' said Irish Prison Officers Association President Tony Power, who has called for urgent investment in current facilities.
Rehabilitation services are also suffering.
Nearly 2,000 inmates are waiting for access to psychological care, addiction treatment, education, and vocational training.
The Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey, acknowledged that some prisoners are released before receiving essential support and urged for a coordinated government response to boost in-prison services.
In an effort to manage numbers, the Prison Service has expanded its temporary release programme for non-violent offenders.
While controversial, officials argue it is a necessary safety measure.
Critics, however, view it as a short-term fix that fails to address systemic problems.
Professor Tom O'Malley SC, a leading authority on sentencing law, suggests that courts could consider reduced sentences as a form of judicial accountability - a practice already used in Britain during the COVID pandemic.
Prisons are facing new and complex security threats as well.
Criminals are using high-tech drones to smuggle drugs and phones into Irish prisons, taking advantage of a lack of aerial surveillance due to aviation regulations.
Other European nations are also grappling with similar problems.
French prisons reached record high in population figures this year, with thousands sleeping on the floor.
In contrast, Spain has adopted a more rehabilitative model with promising results - 80% of released prisoners there do not reoffend.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has urged the government to treat imprisonment as a last resort, advocating instead for alternatives like community service and supervised release.
With violence and deaths in custody rising, experts warn that the system is drifting away from its purpose to correct and rehabilitate people for a productive life in a peaceful society.
See More: Caron McCaffrey, Irish Prison Service, Overcrowding, Prison
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Sunday World
an hour ago
- Sunday World
Irish fugitive arrested in Thailand once claimed he founded the Gucci Gang
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Lee Coleman is likely to be deported from Thailand and may be flown to the UK before being exradited to Ireland He has a long-running hatred of gardaí and has previously attacked and threatened officers, telling them he knew where they and their families lived and claimed he co-founded 'The Gucci Gang'. Coleman fled Ireland while before the courts on various matters and had been running a cannabis shop called 'Breaking Bad Budz' in Krabi on southern Thailand's west coast. Frightened The Meath man failed to keep a low profile while on the run and naively posted pictures of himself on social media outside the cannabis shop with the sign in the background. Thai authorities said they carried out a surveillance operation at the premises after they were tipped off by gardaí of his connection to the shop and arrested Coleman on Thursday when he turned up. A video of the arrest shows Coleman looking frightened as he cowers on the floor and tells police: 'I do nothing, I do nothing. No show me police.' Lee Coleman looking fearful after being arrested by Thai police Police Colonel, Sorathat Iamla-or, superintendent of Krabi Immigration, told local media that Coleman was arrested on immigration offences as he overstayed in Thailand by 415 days. He said: 'The suspect was charged with overstaying, which he acknowledged. 'We handed him over to the inquiry officer of Mueang Krabi Police Station for legal action according to Thai law. We also coordinated with the embassy for him to be extradited to Ireland.' Garda sources say his return home may be complicated as Ireland has no extradition treaty with Thailand. They said it would not be the case that he would be put on a plane with Thai officers and flown directly to Ireland to be handed over to gardaí. 'He has been detained for overstaying on his visa and will likely be deported – but he won't be extradited directly to Ireland. There are no direct flights so he will be given a ticket and put on a plane to somewhere else and might try and run from there,' a source said. 'If he was flown directly to Ireland, gardaí could be waiting for him when he got off, but that's not the case.' However, Coleman could potentially be flown directly to the UK and could be picked up by British police before being sent back to Ireland. Coleman has served prison sentences here for various offences, including drug-dealing after being caught multiple times with cannabis for sale or supply at his home in Clusker Park and at an address in Academy Square in Navan. He also received a five-year sentence with three-and-a-half years suspended in 2022 for a number of offences, including threatening two gardaí at Navan Garda Station on August 20, 2020. Families He had been arrested earlier that evening following an incident in the Blackcastle area and when he was brought back to the station he threatened gardaí and warned them he knew where they and their families lived. 'Gucci Gang' boss Glen Ward He continued to threaten and abuse gardaí when he was later brought to court and prison and repeatedly told them they didn't know who they were dealing with and claimed that he co-founded the Finglas-based 'Gucci Gang' run by Glen Ward. Coleman had also been involved in a violent disorder incident in Preston Place in Navan in February 21, 2019 and another violent disorder incident where up to 20 people in balaclavas gathered outside a house in Dunville Avenue in Johnstown and smashed windows on March 30, 2021. Coleman also posted pictures of a garda and the officer's partner on social media. Judge Terence O'Sullivan described Coleman as a significant and dangerous individual at his sentence hearing and jailed him for five years, with three-and-a-half suspended, when he appeared in court in May 2022. He was back before the courts again the following month for threatening and abusive behaviour over yet another incident where he warned officers that there would be 'repercussions for gardaí in Meath' and that he 'knew more' about the garda and made reference to his family. He was back before the courts yet again in September 2022 when he received an additional two months after being convicted of assaulting a garda and escaping from lawful custody at Navan Garda Station on April 2, 2021. He continued his involvement in crime after his release from prison and was caught with drugs again and arrested for driving while intoxicated, dangerous driving and criminal damage to the front bumper of a Garda car arising out of an incident at a petrol station in Ross Cross, Tara, Co. Meath on October 27, 2023. Absconded He was granted bail in relation to those offences but bench warrants were issued for his arrest after he failed to turn up in court and gardaí discovered he had fled to Thailand. Gardaí had also been investigating Coleman for other offences at the time he absconded and the Director of Public Prosecutions has directed he be charged in relation to those matters. Thai authorities claimed Lee was facing a litany of charges in Ireland for offences including drug-dealing, assault, money- laundering, theft, weapons possession, illegal detention, traffic offences and public disorder. Coleman did a poor job of hiding his location while on the run. He posted pictures of himself with pals outside his Breaking Bad Budz cannabis dispensary in the coastal town of Krabi which is popular with tourists. The shop displays the Irish tricolour and its sign features an image of the school-teacher-turned-drug-lord Walter White from the Breaking Bad TV series. Cannabis was decriminalised in Thailand in 2022 creating a booming industry with around 11,000 licensed dispensaries around the country opening up. However, the Thai government had brought in new legislation restricting the sale of cannabis to those with a prescription which came into effect the day before Coleman's arrest at his dispensary this week.
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Ireland's €550m hospitality VAT cut seems based on little evidence
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Billions at stake — but based on what evidence? Let's take a look. First of all, a quick reminder on what the hospitality VAT rate is. A VAT rate of 13.5% applies to businesses working in 'hospitality' – restaurants, cafes, hotels, etc. Restaurants say they're in crisis — but the numbers tell a different story. However, for much of the last decade or so, the rate was set at a lower 9%. This lower rate was introduced after the financial crisis, to help businesses lower prices. The state collects VAT on all products sold by hospitality firms. If the rate is lowered from 13.5% to 9%, in theory this means profitable companies can lower their prices without impacting their bottom line. So, this would make the services sold by hospitality businesses more affordable. Then, people would be more likely to, say, eat out in a restaurant. In turn, this would get people more confident about spending money, at a time when the economy desperately needed a boost. As explored previously, that original idea has now been lost . More recently, the lower VAT rate has essentially functioned as a support to the sector. For example, during Covid the rate was dropped as many restaurants could not operate. Instead of lowering prices, the idea was the lower rate would boost the profits of struggling businesses. The rate was increased from 9% back to the normal 13.5% in 2023 as the economy returned to normal. But last week, Tánaiste Simon Harris made a 'solemn promise' to once again reduce the VAT rate for the hospitality sector. He acknowledged the move would cost the state a 'significant amount of money'. However, he argued 'it's not about a tax cut for businesses'. 'It's about recognising that in every town and every village there are small businesses creating employment that want to be able to keep going and need to be supported,' he said. So the Tánaiste argued that hospitality firms are struggling and need financial support from the state. 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But employment in this sector rose by 7% over the last year to 186,000 . By most metrics, the sector looks fine. More than that – it looks like it's doing well. What the numbers actually say The CSO tracks the number of people employed per industry. 'Accommodation and food services' is the one which is relevant for hospitality food businesses – the type the RAI claims are closing en masse. For instance, in November the CSO reported 'Accommodation & Food Services' recorded the largest increase in hours worked of any sector in the country . This simply doesn't match up with the claims of a supposed closure crisis. We even have a perfect, recent reference point for a closure crisis in the industry. In 2020, employment in 'Accommodation & Food Services' plunged to 139,000. There's no question that was a disaster, and the lower VAT rate was needed. But the same evidence is not there right now. The Department of Finance has also staunchly opposed reducing the hospitality VAT rate. It pointed out that 14 EU countries have a VAT rate of 12% or higher on food services – meaning Ireland's current 13.5% rate is fairly typical. The OECD, an intergovernmental group of wealthy countries, also recently pointed out that reducing hospitality VAT will likely 'disproportionately benefit' people on higher incomes . What cutting VAT really means Finally, it's worth considering the impact reducing the VAT rate will have more broadly. Reducing the rate and foregoing €550 million per year means the government has less money to spend in other areas. Cutting the VAT rate to 9% would make it much less likely for the government to adjust income tax bands for inflation – meaning workers will lose more money in tax. This is exactly what the Department of Finance has warned against, saying the lower VAT rate will mean an 'enormous fiscal transfer of taxpayer's money to the sector, which the evidence available at present does not support.' Given all of this – what is the evidence for reducing hospitality VAT? The Journal asked representatives for Simon Harris the studies or data he cited to decide on cutting the VAT rate. In response, a spokesperson said: 'The Programme for Government commits to bring forward measures to support SMEs. In particular, the retail and hospitality sectors, acknowledging the increased cost pressures on these sectors.' Asked again what evidence the Tánaiste's decision was based on, there was no response. Now, look – we all know most restaurants and cafes operate on fine margins. That's not in question. What is in doubt is whether this very specific measure – which will cost taxpayers a lot of money – is needed. To date, the government has not provided good evidence to indicate why it is choosing to forgo hundreds of millions of euros. When politicians are playing with so much taxpayer money, the least they can do is explain their decisions. So far, the government has completely failed to do that. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Flogging beef tongue and Irish whiskey: Taoiseach and ministers travel to Japan in major trade push
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