The number of assaults on prison officers by inmates in the country’s jails increased by 30% last year, according to new figures released by the Irish Prison Service.
However, the latest figures also show the total number of assaults by prisoners on fellow inmates across the country’s 13 prisons during 2021 was effectively unchanged and at their lowest level in the past decade.
Overall, a total of 91 physical attacks on prison staff by prisoners were recorded last year – an increase of 21 on 2020 figures but still the joint second lowest annual total since 2012.
