Irish Prison Service

In 1928, the Minister for Justice of the Irish Free State, Kevin O'Higgins, dissolved by statutory instrument the General Prisons Board, which had been established in the pre-independence era to manage the Irish prison system.

[1] Thus, the responsibility for the management of the Irish prison system devolved to the minister and his department.

[2] In 2002, the first Inspector of Prisons in the post-independence era, retired High Court Judge Dermot Kileen was also appointed by the Minister.

[6] Work and vocational training programs are also available to prisoners who want to learn them; examples are Braille, woodworking, metalworking, construction, and computers.

[8] In 2018, the Irish Prison Service had an annual budget of €327.37 million and it had a staff of 3,186 people.