Latest news with #IrishPrisonService
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Violent criminal, 38, jailed for face slashing attacks among 4 prisoners hospitalised after overdose at Mountjoy prison
A VIOLENT criminal serving a lengthy sentence for slashing the faces of a man and a woman in separate blade attacks was hospitalised with three others after overdosing behind bars. The Irish Sun has learned that thug Jonathan Cummins, 38, was An Irish Prison Service spokesman said: "The Irish Prison Service is working closely with the "Extra vigilance is being taken across the prison, and an information campaign for prisoners around the dangers of consuming contraband has commenced." Read more in News Cummins is serving a 16-year sentence after targeting a man and a woman with a knife in one of the busiest hubs in On the day, he slashed a man across his face from mouth to ear while also attacking another woman and injuring her in Dublin's north inner city. He then walked up Moore Lane and pounced on a homeless woman in an unprovoked assault. The woman - who has since passed away from unrelated causes - was also slit from her mouth to ear. MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN The Irish Prison Service says it is committed to preventing the access of contraband, including drugs into prisons and this continues to be a "high priority", as they invest in new technologies and measures. The spokesman added: "Prison staff have increased the use of random and intelligence led cell searches on a daily basis. The Irish Prison Service Operational Support Group work closely with their colleagues in An Garda Síochana, nationally and locally, on a regular basis and the sharing of intelligence has led to target searches resulting in the seizure of contraband. 'GREATER FOCUS' "Our Canine Unit carries out searches around the prisons, including a greater focus on searching deliveries into prisons. "There is a free confidential telephone line (1800 855 717) and text line ( 086 180 2449 ) which is operational. Prisoners, visitors, staff or members of the public with information on the trafficking of prohibited items into our prisons can pass on that information in the strictest confidence." The IPS is also working together with the gardai as part of Operation Throwover in a bid to tackle organised crime gangs targeting prisons with drugs, weapons and While netting capable of withstanding fire-bombing - which saw packages set alight and dropped on the nets to burn through - are being rolled out across the system. 1 Jonathan Cummins was one of the four men who fell gravely ill at Mountjoy Prison
Extra.ie
7 days ago
- 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.
Sunday World
14-06-2025
- Sunday World
Total of 404 prisoners now sleeping on mattresses in Irish jail cells
Inmates used to having their own cells are suddenly having to share with one or two other people. A total of 404 prisoners are now sleeping on mattresses in overcrowded Irish jails. The biggest number, 103, are lying on the floor in Mountjoy Prison, followed by 80 in the Midlands, 56 in Cork, 43 Wheatfield, 38 in Cloverhill, 34 in Limerick, Castlerea and seven in Portlaoise. There are also nine women inmates sleeping on mattresses in Mountjoy women's prison, the Dochas Centre. The latest data from the Irish Prison Service also disclosed there are currently a sky-high 5,413 prisoners in custody - 878 more than the official number of beds they have in custody. The number of people jailed passed the 5,000 mark last year. The overcrowding issue has led to increasing tensions in many prisons. Inmates used to having their own cells are suddenly having to share with one or two other people. Most lifers such as Aisling Murphy's killer Josef Puska, and notorious murderers Graham Dwyer and Joe O'Reilly still have cells on their own. The biggest number of prisoners in the country are in Mountjoy with 988 in the men's jail, 182 in the women's prison and 97 many of them sex offenders in what is known as the Training Unit. There are 1,040 prisoners being held in the Midlands jail. A senior prison officer in Mountjoy said they have run out of space and the overcrowding issue is causing a lot of infighting and bad blood between some prisoners. Only last weekend one inmate was left fighting for his life after being attacked in the exercise yard. Stock image Today's News in 90 Seconds - June 14 2025 Career criminal and convicted killer Stephen Kearney, from Ballymun, Dublin is being treated in the Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and is in a critical condition. Kearney previously served nine years for manslaughter as teenager after he beat a young man, Francis Gallagher, 18 to death in 2004. He was due to be freed from Mountjoy in the next few weeks. The Irish Prison Service says it has a legal obligation to accommodate every prisoner spend to jail by the courts irrespective of whether it has the room or not.
