The Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) has recently completed an unannounced general inspection of Loughan House Open Centre. The inspection took place between 11 and 22 May 2026. All but one of Ireland’s prisons have now received unannounced general inspections as part of the Inspectorate’s programme of regular inspections of all prisons in Ireland. Inspections are carried out under the Inspectorate’s 2024 Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland.

This inspection was carried out by::

  • Mr. Mark Kelly, Chief Inspector of Prisons
  • Ms. Michelle Martyn, Lead Inspector
  • Mr. Gerry Cronin, Inspector
  • Ms. Orla Dick, Inspector
  • Mr. Conor Dormer, Inspector
  • Dr. Douglas Nanka-Bruce, Data Analyst
  • Ms. Joanne Mooney, Information Coordinator

The OIP Inspection Team was assisted by Dr. Jennifer Flynn, General Practitioner. In addition, the team benefitted from the expertise of Mr. Gavin Doyle (Senior Inspector) and Ms. Catherine Treacy (Inspector) from the Inspectorate of the Department of Education.*

The visit concluded with a meeting between the inspection team, prison management and a representative of Irish Prison Service Headquarters.

Speaking after the inspection concluded, Chief Inspector Mr Mark Kelly said:

“Loughan House Open Centre shows what can be done when an establishment is not overcrowded and the people living and working there are treated with respect. We found that material conditions were very good and the bucolic setting of Centre contributed to the wellbeing of residents and staff. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of men employed outside the Centre, which is laudable. We have encouraged the Centre’s management to explore, in consultation with residents, possible further improvements to the facilities and work opportunities available in the Centre. The good work done in developing relationships with employers in the community is assisting men to prepare for their release; efforts should be made to further increase the number of external employment possibilities.”

Note to editors

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory body, independent in how it carries out its work, set up under the Prisons Act 2007.

The law underpinning the role of Chief Inspector of Prisons is set out in Part 5, Sections 30 to 32 of the Prisons Act 2007. Section 30 provides for the  appointment of the Chief Inspector, Section 31 sets out the functions of the Chief Inspector and Section 32 specifies the requirement to submit an Annual Report to the Minister for Justice, by 31 March in any year. The Inspectorate’s Annual Report for 2025 was submitted to the Minister on 31 March 2026.

Under Section 31 of the Act, the Chief Inspector of Prisons is obliged to carry out regular inspections of prisons and for this purpose may: at any time enter any prison or any part of a prison, request and obtain from the Governor a copy of any books, records, other documents or extracts from such documents, and, in the course of an inspection or arising out of an inspection bring any issues of concern to the notice of the governor of the prison concerned, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service or the Minister as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

The Chief Inspector may, and must if he receives a request from the Minister, investigate any matter arising out of the management or operation of a prison and shall submit to the Minister a report on any such investigation.

Governors, prison officers, other persons employed in prisons and prisoners, must as far as reasonably practicable, comply with any request for information that the Chief Inspector may make in the performance of his functions.

Since 2012, the Chief Inspector has also been obliged to investigate the circumstances of all deaths in prison custody and those within one month of temporary release from custody. To date in 2026, there have been sixteen deaths falling within the Inspectorate’s mandate, all of which are being independently  investigated. This is more than the total number of deaths in prison custody in 2025 (fourteen).

In addition to the legislative authority derived from the Act, the Chief Inspector has specified functions under Prison Rules 2007-2013 in relation to the Irish Prison Service Prisoner Complaints Procedure (Rule 57B) and letters from prisoners (Rule 44 (1) (h)).

It is anticipated that, in the near future, the Inspectorate will become the Office of the Chief Inspector of Places of Detention, with an expanded remit as the National Preventive Mechanism for the justice sector under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT). New legislation – the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill – will render it unlawful to fail to cooperate with the Chief Inspector.

(*) The OIP has concluded a Memorandum of Agreement with the Inspectorate of the Department of Education, enabling it to benefit from the expertise of colleagues from that Inspectorate when assessing educational provision in prisons.

For further information, please see: www.oip.ie

ENDS