Prisoner numbers up by 1,000 in five years but only 43 extra spaces created for them

File image. Arbour Hill prison in Dublin.

Conor Feehan

There are now 1,000 more inmates in the prison system since 2019 but the spaces created for them have only gone up by 43, the Prison Officers Association annual conference in Sligo will hear today.

Highlighting the level of overcrowding, the Association’s President Tony Power, will tell delegates the number of prisoners in custody is about to reach 5,000, representing a 25pc increase on the figure of five years ago.