The Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) has just completed its first cycle of full unannounced inspections of every prison in Ireland. These inspections have been conducted in line with the OIP’s detailed Inspection Framework.

This first cycle of inspections was completed by an unannounced general inspection of Portlaoise Prison which took place between 21 September and 1 October 2026. 

This inspection was conducted by:

  • Mr. Mark Kelly, Chief Inspector of Prisons
  • Ms. Helen Osborn, Senior Inspector 
  • Ms. Michelle Martyn, Lead Inspector / Inspection Coordinator
  • Ms. Laura Anderson, Lead Inspector
  • Mr. Gerry Cronin, Inspector
  • Ms. Orla Dick, Inspector
  • Mr. Conor Dormer, Inspector
  • Dr. Douglas Nanka-Bruce, Data Analyst
  • Ms. Joanne Mooney, Administrative Support
  • Mr. Patrick Nugent, Information Coordinator

The following Experts assisted the OIP Inspection Team:

  • Mr. Antony Hassall, (International Criminal Justice & Corrections Consultant) Safety & Security Expert
  • Dr. Kieran Kennedy (General Practitioner), Health & Well-Being Expert

Ms. Caroline O’Shea (Reporting Inspector), Ms Yvonne Ní Mhurchú (Supporting Inspector) and Ms Bernadette Ni Ruairc (Inspector) from the Department of Education and Youth Inspectorate also formed part of the team examining the quality of education provision.*

 

The inspection team received good cooperation from the Governor and his staff and was able to operate in a relatively untrammelled fashion. Nonetheless, some new and unjustified constraints on the OIP’s operational autonomy continue to be imposed. The Chief Inspector of Prisons has reached out to the Director-General of the Irish Prison Service to propose a bilateral meeting to resolve this ongoing cooperation failure.

Speaking today, Chief Inspector Mr Mark Kelly said:

“The Irish Prison Service must ensure that our unfettered access to all parts of all prisons is fully restored, and I trust that further engagement with the Director-General of the IPS will produce a solution that respects the operational autonomy of the OIP”.

“Our time in Portlaoise Prison brings to a close the first-ever cycle of full unannounced inspections of every prison in Ireland. Over the course of these inspections a number of clear systemic issues have emerged including: the impact of the scourge of overcrowding, serious deficiencies in mental health and addition services and a paucity of meaningful regime activities. Systemic recommendations have been crafted to address these issues, and I look forward to working on their implementation with Governors, the Director-General of the IPS and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration”.

Mr Kelly added that:

“As this first-ever cycle of full inspections draws to a close, I also wish to publicly acknowledge the evident commitment of the vast majority of prison staff to respecting the dignity of all those who live and work in Ireland’s prisons”.

Note to editors

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory body, independent in how it conducts 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.

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.

Since 2012, the Chief Inspector has also been obliged to investigate the circumstances of all deaths in custody and those within one month of temporary release from custody.

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 very near future, the Inspectorate will become the Inspectorate 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).

(*) 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