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Extra.ie
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Jailing of undocumented migrants ‘will lead to early release of high-risk criminals'
The Department of Justice was warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals being temporarily released from jail. The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said a garda decision to bring charges against individuals arriving in Ireland without valid documents was contributing to 'unsafe and unmanageable' levels of overcrowding. In a letter to a senior department official obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, IPS Director General Caron McCaffrey noted that in normal circumstances low-risk offenders on short sentences were the first to be offered temporary release. The Department of Justice was warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals being temporarily released from jail. Pic: Fran Veale She said this would normally include those in custody for immigration offences but that the Department of Justice had made a deliberate policy decision to keep them in jail. Ms McCaffrey said that, while the move was 'understandable', it was adding to the immense pressure on the Irish prison system. She wrote: '[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 re-offending and community safety perspective.' Ms McCaffrey also warned the Prison Service was heading into a 'catastrophic period' and that numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day. She said if changes were not made, there was 'real potential to result in violent disorder within our prisons threatening the safety and wellbeing of both our staff and those in our care'. The Director General said the Irish Prison Service had exhausted all options around the temporary release (TR) of low-risk offenders. She said the department needed to look at temporary release for 'medium-risk to high-risk sentenced offenders', which would have to apply to criminals including 'prolific' burglars and individuals who were convicted of assault on gardaí or peace officers. Ms McCaffrey urged the Department to look at options for temporary release of sex offenders, especially those who are 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. As the prisons boss acknowledged to the Department: '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. 'However, other categories being considered for temporary release as part of crisis measures pose a much greater risk to public safety,' she added. Caron McCaffrey Ms McCaffrey said this was particularly relevant for historic convictions and older sex offenders, some of whom were 'medically dependent' people 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. Ms McCaffrey also called for a reduction in the number of people being remanded to custody rather than granted bail. She 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. Ms McCaffrey also asked the Department to press ahead with efforts for reopening of the disused Curragh Prison on Defence Forces land in Co. Kildare. Her letter concluded: 'Overall, we are in an extremely difficult situation that we anticipate will only get worse without urgent decisions being made.' Asked about the correspondence, a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said they had nothing further to add.
The Irish Sun
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Stark immigrants crackdown alert as prison boss warns move risks high-risk criminals being released due to overcrowding
JUSTICE chiefs were warned a crackdown on undocumented immigrants would lead to more serious and high-risk criminals being freed from jail. Irish 2 Irish Prison Service boss Caron McCaffrey shared her concerns with the Department of Justice 2 The note said the IPS was heading into a 'catastrophic period' and that numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day Credit: Getty Images - Getty She said a Ms McCaffrey told a senior official that normally low risk offenders on short sentences were the first to be offered temporary release. This would include those in custody for She said that while the move was 'understandable', it was adding to the immense pressure on the prison system. READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS Her letter said: '[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 re-offending and community safety perspective.' The note — sent in February 2024, but only just released under FoI laws — said the IPS was heading into a 'catastrophic period' and that numbers in custody were reaching new highs every day. Ms McCaffrey asked for urgent changes in temporary release, saying the IPS had exhausted all options around freeing low-risk lags. She said they must look at freeing 'medium to high-risk sentenced offenders'. MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN And she urged the Department to look at allowing Ms McCaffrey said: '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. 'However, other categories being considered for temporary release as part of crisis measures pose a much greater risk to public safety.' The IPS had no comment.
Irish Independent
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Irish Prison Service warns Department of Justice that prisons are overcrowded
The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) wrote to the department saying a garda decision to bring charges against individuals arriving in Ireland without valid passports was contributing to 'unsafe and unmanageable' levels of overcrowding in Irish jails. 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.
The Irish Sun
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Irish Prison Service to spend €4m on dressing gowns, underwear, anoraks & pink t-shirts for over 5.4k inmates
THE Irish Prison Service is set to spend €4 million on clothes for inmates including dressing gowns, underwear and pink t-shirts. 2 Caron McCaffrey wrote to the Department of Justice to warn about the dangers of overcrowding The tender is worth €1 million a year for the next four years with the prison service seeking a range of clothes for inmates with specific details on colour and material. For example, the tender seeks thousands of white polo neck t-shirts for male inmates along with crew neck t-shirts that are pink for female lags. The company that bags the contract will also have to provide red anoraks for prisoners, with the prison service requesting that the jackets should have no pockets and no hoods. Thousands of pairs of underwear are also to be supplied under the contract with polyester and cotton boxer shorts for men that are white in colour. Read more in News For women, the tender seeks mixed colour underwear that are 100 per cent cotton and have frill elasticated waists. The contract will also purchase dressing gowns, pyjamas, tracksuits and leggings for prisoners. Runners will also need to be provided that are secured by straps instead of laces. The business that wins the contract will be asked to deliver clothes to all 14 prisons across the country including the stores at Ireland's only maximum security jail in MOST READ ON THE IRISH SUN The €1 million a year tender is actually a drop in the price from what the prison service were willing to pay for clothes the last time they issued this tender. Gardai release video showing secret smuggling compartment in lorry caught with €10.6m of cocaine In 2020, the IPS were offering €1.3 million a year for prisoners' clothing as they sought thousands of t-shirts, runners, socks and sets of pyjamas. It comes as the head of the Irish Prison Service Caron McCaffrey wrote to the Department of Justice to warn about the dangers to staff and inmates due to the current overcrowding crisis. The latest figures show that there are 5,413 prisoners in Irish prisons with 404 of these inmates sleeping on mattresses on the floor because there are not enough beds. Prison service boss Caron McCaffrey warned the Department: 'I need to advise you that I now have grave concerns in relation to the ability of this service to ensure the safety of both those who work and live in our prisons.' 2 Ireland's only maximum security prison in Portlaoise will also receive clothing supplies Credit: Garrett White - The Sun
Irish Times
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Overcrowded jails spark ‘grave concerns' about safety of staff and inmates
The head of the Irish prison system warned the Department of Justice she had 'grave concerns' about the safety of staff and inmates because of dire overcrowding in jails. A letter sent by Irish Prison Service director general Caron McCaffrey in 2024 said the Minister needed to think carefully about the appointment of 20 new judges, which would lead to a further influx of prisoners the service could not cope with. 'Undoubtedly a large element of the current overcrowding crisis is directly related to the appointment of additional judges,' the letter read. '[This led to] the scheduling of over 600 extra court sittings this year, decisions taken when our prisons were already over capacity and not in a position to absorb the inevitable increase in committals safely.' READ MORE The correspondence was sent on a day in May last year when there were 4,960 people in the custody of the Irish Prison Service (IPS). That number has since risen as high as 5,400. Ms McCaffrey's letter has been released following an appeal to the Information Commissioner under Freedom of Information laws. She wrote: 'In the absence of an urgent decision [on temporary release measures], I need to advise you that I now have grave concerns in relation to the ability of this service to ensure the safety of both those who work and live in our prisons.' Ms McCaffrey said with nearly 5,000 people in custody, prisons were already operating with 'dangerous levels of overcrowding'. She said there had been a sharp increase in temporary release to relieve pressure but all of the main prisons were well above operational capacity. [ Provision of almost 1,000 extra prison places to be fast-tracked Opens in new window ] Ms McCaffrey also told the department that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) was due to visit in the coming weeks, writing : '[They] will be scathing in their criticism of the conditions we are being forced to hold people in with over 200 people sleeping on mattresses on the floor this morning.' Ms McCaffrey said she wanted an urgent decision on new rules around who could and could not be given temporary release. She also asked for a commitment that no new measures would be introduced that would add to the burden, particularly then minister for justice Helen McEntee's wish to appoint 20 new judges 'with haste'. An earlier letter from Ms McCaffrey from February 2024 to the department said the prison system was now in an 'untenable, unacceptable and potentially unsafe situation' due to overcrowding. She said there was a real risk the IPS would not be able to produce all prisoners for court hearings, saying it was 'at a tipping point' in terms of its ability to fulfil that service. : She said every possible measure had been used to ease overcrowding including the recommissioning of small areas of prisons to provide extra beds, provision of bunk beds, and reopening of the Training Unit at Mountjoy in Dublin. 'Despite these efforts, numbers continue to grow to record levels,' she said.
