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Office of the Inspector of Prisons

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory body, independent in how it carries out its work, set up under the Prisons Act 2007.

Our Mission is:

Supporting excellence in both delivery and outcomes in Ireland’s prisons through an independent programme of inspections and investigations

Our Values reflected in what we do and how we do it are:

Independent & Impartial – We are fair and reasonable in how we conduct our work, using evidence to arrive at our conclusions.
Human rights focused – We have a focus on Human Rights at the core of our work. This Human Rights focus applies to prisoners, visitors, staff and others who come into contact with us.
Transparent and collaborative – We publish our approach to Inspections and Investigations. The objective is to work in dialogue with the Irish Prison Service to drive both compliance and good practice, leading to better outcomes.
Capable and systematic – We are professional and structured in both our approach (e.g. gathering evidence) and the articulation of our findings, conclusions and recommendations.

Latest Publications and News

Publication of Inspection Framework, ‘A Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland’ (2024)

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons has published its updated Inspection Framework, A Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland (2024). Changes to the Inspection Framework were made following extensive consultations with key stakeholders including people in [...]

December 20th, 2024|

Prisons Watchdog Returns to Cloverhill

Ireland’s statutory prisons watchdog, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP), has recently completed an unannounced follow-up inspection of Cloverhill Prison, Dublin. The Inspectorate’s three-day visit concluded on Wednesday 11 December 2024, with a formal meeting at which [...]

December 17th, 2024|