Overcrowding in women’s prisons “human rights breaches” says Senator McCarthy

Senator Aubrey McCarthy has called for urgent reform of Ireland’s women’s prisons, warning that severe overcrowding is creating unsafe, degrading conditions and failing vulnerable women.

Today, Limerick Female Prison is operating at 150% capacity and the Mountjoy Dóchas Centre at 123%.

“These are not just statistics,” Senator McCarthy said in the Seanad. “They are women sleeping on floors, traumatised by overcrowding, and released into homelessness. I meet them in our homeless cafés after release. This breaches the dignity we are bound to uphold under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Bangkok Rules.”

Drawing on his work with Tiglin and visits to the Mountjoy Dóchas Centre, Senator McCarthy noted that most women in custody are non-violent, often mothers and survivors of abuse. “We are punishing trauma and poverty instead of addressing it. Prison services are overwhelmed, staff are burnt out, and the human cost is mounting.”

He urged the Government to invest in gender-responsive, community-based alternatives to prison, proper post-release supports, and policies shaped by lived experience. “Real reform builds people up. Let’s stop breaking them down.”