Irish Prison Service warns Department of Justice that prisons are overcrowded
It is a criminal offence to arrive in this country without a valid travel document, punishable by up to 12 months in prison or a €3,000 fine. That penalty was introduced by the Immigration Act 2004, but it has only been rigorously enforced in recent times, following a crackdown once the numbers of people arriving here without documents began to rise.
In a letter to a senior department official, released under the Freedom of Information Act, IPS director general Caron McCaffrey said that, in normal circumstances, low-risk offenders on short sentences were the first to be offered temporary release.
She said this would normally include those in custody for immigration offences but the Department of Justice had made a deliberate policy decision to keep them in jail.
Her letter stated: 'It will unfortunately necessitate the early release of more serious and high-risk offenders to make space in already overcrowded prisons, instead of offenders deemed to be low risk, from a reoffending and community safety perspective.'
She said the IPS was heading into a 'catastrophic period' and numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day.
The letter was sent in February 2024 but was withheld by the IPS under Freedom of Information laws until recent weeks.
Ms McCaffrey also asked for urgent changes in the operation of temporary release and what type of criminals it could be applied to.
She said that if changes were not made, there was the 'real potential to result in violent disorder within our prisons, threatening the safety and well-being of both our staff and those in our care.'
She said they had exhausted all options around the temporary release of low-risk offenders and added that the department needed to look at temporary release for 'medium to high-risk sentenced offenders', which would have to apply to criminals including 'prolific' burglars and individuals convicted of assault on gardaí or peace officers.
Ms McCaffrey called on the department to look at options for temporary release of sex offenders, especially those at low risk of offending. Under existing rules, sex offenders are ineligible for temporary release and no change has been made to this policy since the letter was sent.
'It is recognised that this is a difficult category due to the victim issues and the fact that people convicted of a sex offence pose a low risk of very serious harm, while other types of offenders pose a high risk of less serious harm,' she said.
'However, other categories being considered for temporary release as part of crisis measures pose a much greater risk to public safety.'
She said this was particularly relevant for historic convictions and older sex offenders, some of whom were 'medically dependent' and actively engaging in rehabilitation. She also called for more flexibility around the use of open prisons for long-serving prisoners.
Under existing rules, only those serving sentences of less than eight years could be transferred to an open centre such as Loughan House or Shelton Abbey, meaning spaces were not always being used in an optimal way.
She called for a reduction in the number of people being remanded in custody, and said there was a particular need for a bail supervision scheme for female offenders, with the country's two women's prisons in Dublin and Limerick operating above capacity.
She also asked that the department press ahead with its efforts to reopen the disused Curragh Prison in Co Kildare.
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