Home > Dáil Éireann debate. Question 743 - Departmental data [Offending] [72213/25].

[Oireachtas] Dáil Éireann debate. Question 743 - Departmental data [Offending] [72213/25]. (16 Dec 2025)

External website: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2025...


743. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of persons currently in custody who are non-Irish nationals; the length of sentence being served by each; the offence category for which they were convicted; and the length of time each individual had been a resident in the State prior to committing the offence, for each of the past 5 years, in tabular form. [72213/25]

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: I can assure the Deputy that this Government remains focused on reducing re-offending, including by diverting people, where appropriate, from the criminal justice system and ensuring the underlying causes of offending behaviour are addressed.

The Irish Prison Service has advised that the number of persons currently in custody who are non-Irish nationals; the length of sentence being served by each and the offence category for which they were convicted is as outlined in the tables below. These statistics have been taken from the most recent snapshot of the prison population, conducted on 30 November 2025. There was a total of 1,038 non-nationals in custody at this time, of which 675 were serving a custodial sentence.

Nationality Group Female Male Total %

African

8

141

149

14.4

Asian

3

84

87

8.4

British

5

123

128

12.3

Central American

0

1

1

0.1

European Union

21

487

508

48.9

Middle East

0

21

21

2.0

North American

2

11

13

1.3

Oceania

0

1

1

0.1

Other European

5

58

63

6.1

South American

6

61

67

6.5

Total

50

988

1,038

100.0

Offence Group Description <3 Mths 3 to <6 Mths 6 to <12 Mths 1 to <2 Yrs 2 to <3 Yrs 3 to <5 Yrs 5 to <10 Yrs 10+ Yrs Life Sentences Total

Homicide Offences

0

0

0

0

1

1

8

5

41

56

Sexual Offences

0

1

2

10

12

30

59

47

0

161

Attempts/Threat to Murder, Assaults, Harassments and Related Offences

1

2

8

23

18

23

11

6

0

92

Dangerous or Negligent Acts

0

1

1

5

8

7

1

0

23

Kidnapping and Related Offences

0

0

0

0

1

3

1

2

0

7

Robbery, Extortion and Hijacking Offences

0

0

0

2

4

2

2

0

0

10

Burglary and Related Offences

0

0

1

6

2

11

6

0

0

26

Theft and Related Offences

0

7

8

12

5

12

4

2

0

50

Fraud, Deception and Related Offences

1

1

0

4

1

11

6

0

0

24

Controlled Drug Offences

1

1

1

8

24

73

45

16

0

169

Weapons and Explosives Offences

0

0

3

1

0

0

2

1

0

7

Damage to Property and the Environment

0

2

2

1

0

5

2

0

0

12

Public Order and Social Code Offences

2

4

5

1

1

0

1

0

0

14

Road and Traffic Offences

0

2

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

5

Offences against Government, Justice Procedures and Organisation of Crime

0

2

2

2

3

1

5

0

0

15

Offences Not Elsewhere Classified

0

0

0

1

2

1

0

0

0

4

Total

5

23

36

76

82

180

153

79

41

675

The Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide statistics on the length of time each individual had been a resident in the State prior to committing the offence.

The Irish Prison Service publishes statistical information, including the daily prisoner population and a monthly detailed statistical report on their website [www.irishprisons.ie] in the Information Centre – under Statistics & Information.

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