Resources
Prison Expenditure |
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The Irish Prison Service’s gross budget for 2026 is €579 million, an increase of €167 million (62%) since 2019. On a per capita basis, spending on prisons in Ireland increased from €41.84 per person in 2019 to €50.59 per person in 2023. This remains below the EU average, which increased from €50.09 per person to €60.06 per person over the same period. Traffic light indicator: Red |
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€50.59
per capita spent on prisons in Ireland during 2023. -
€60.06
per capita spent on prisons in EU member states during 2023.
Prison Occupancy Rates |
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Ireland’s prison occupancy rate was below the EU average until 2021 but moved above the EU average in subsequent years. In 2019, Irish prisons operated at 94% capacity. Prison overcrowding in Ireland has escalated sharply since then. By December 2025, the occupancy rate had surpassed 123%, exceeding official capacity. From 2019 to 2023, Ireland’s prison population grew at an average annual rate of 3.12%, while the EU average showed an annual decline of 0.02%. |
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93.75%
Irish prison occupancy rate in December 2019. -
123%
Irish prison occupancy rate in December 2025.
Remand rates |
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Ireland’s average remand rate between 2019 and 2024 (21%) remained below the Council of Europe average of 28%. Between 2019 and 2024, the proportion of Ireland’s prison population held on remand rose from 20% to 21%, while the actual number increased by 34% (from an average of 723 to 967 prisoners). Ireland’s remand rate is proportionately higher than that of Slovakia and England & Wales; it is approximate to the remand rate in Scotland; and it is lower than that of New Zealand. Traffic light indicator: Red |
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Average Prison Sentence Length |
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From 2019 to 2023, Ireland’s average sentence served ranged between five and seven months, while the European benchmark was between 10 and 11 months. In 2023, the average length of time served in Irish prisons was seven months, compared with the Council of Europe average of 10 months. That same year, 12.5% of Ireland’s prison population was serving sentences of less than one year, below the EU average of 18%. There was also a high turnover of short-term committals in Irish prisons, with 77% of new admissions in 2024 sentenced to less than a year. Short sentences in 2024 were most often linked to offences under Government, Justice Procedures, and Organisation of Crime, and theft. Longer sentences included a notable share of life sentences (10%), and terms of ten years or more (9%). Traffic light indicator: Red |
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Traffic light indicators explainedA key feature of the methodology employed in this paper is the traffic-light assessment tool. This is a simple visual tool to assess and communicate Ireland’s performance under each justice indicator. The assessment and analyses are based on empirical data that have been collated from over 100 reputable sources. |
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Red traffic light: Ireland deviates by more than 10% from the European Union or Council of Europe average. |
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Amber traffic light: Ireland deviates by between 3% and 10% from the European Union or Council of Europe average. |
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Green traffic light: Ireland is on a par with, or deviates by up to 3% from, the European Union or Council of Europe average. |
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White traffic light: Available data are insufficient to make an informed assessment. |
Exceptions to this model are made where a deviation is clearly positive or negative. For example, higher public trust in the Gardaí is considered a positive outcome, even if it deviates by more than 10% from the EU average.
Document downloadsThe figures above have been rounded for readability. More precise values are provided under each Justice Indicator in the main paper. You can also download the key findings as a print-friendly PDF. |
