Europe · Northern Europe

Ireland

High confidence

Verified 20 May 2026 · Data dated 30 Apr 2026

Fresh · 9d ago

Persistent overcrowding at Mountjoy and Cloverhill; population at record high mid-2024.

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

Prison population

5,826

Year: 2026

Rate per 100,000

105

Per 100,000 residents

Occupancy

123%

Above design capacity

Pre-trial / remand

18.9%

Share not yet sentenced

Female prisoners

5.6%

Foreign nationals

15.8%

Conditions risk — across 27 facilities

Average of our computed Conditions Risk Score across the country's facilities. Methodology · Browse highest-risk

—

national average

27 unknown

How Ireland compares

vs Europe (16) & global averages

Rate per 100,000this: 105 · region: 108 · global: 214

Occupancy ratethis: 123% · region: 95% · global: 125%

Pre-trial sharethis: 19% · region: 28% · global: 32%

The vertical ticks mark the global (grey) and regional (amber) means. Bars are clipped at the high end for readability.

Prison population over time

Annual figures, latest survey year

2000: 2,948+39.8% over 22y2022: 4,122

Reform in Ireland

All reform →

Laws, programmes, and pilots changing how Ireland incarcerates — plus relevant research.

Mandatory community-service consideration for short sentences2011–ongoing
alternatives · active
Since the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Amendment Act 2011, Irish judges must consider community service for any custodial sentence of 12 months or less. The Probation Service supervises the orders.

Prisons in Ireland

Browse all 27 →

27 facilities in our database — showing the first 24.

Arbour Hill Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cashel (Glencolumbkille) Penitential Station

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Castlerea Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cloverhill Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Confraternity Hall

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Cork City Gaol

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Dóchas Centre

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Dundalk Gaol

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Glin Library

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Grace's Old Castle

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Kilmainham Gaol

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Limerick Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Loughan House

Ireland · Blacklion

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Louth County Archives Service

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Midlands Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Mountjoy Prison

Ireland · Dublin

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Portlaoise Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Rathkeale Community Centre

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Richmond General Penitentiary

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

Shelton Abbey Prison

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

St Cronan's Parochial Hall

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

St. Patrick's Institution

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

The Black Dog, Dublin

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

The Marshalsea, Dublin

Ireland

Type

—

Capacity

—

Held

—

See all 27 prisons in Ireland →

Data completeness

100%

Score based on how many fields are populated. We surface this so you know where the gaps are.

National population: 5,560,0002026
Source-verified: 20 May 2026
Source links: 1 cited

Sources

Direct citations for the figures on this page.

Primary reference
World Prison Brief (ICPS, Birkbeck) — Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research
See /data-sources for our methodology.