Castlerea Prison is hoping not to resort to accommodating prisoners on mattresses on cell floors to deal with overcrowding. It's currently operating above its capacity - with 389 inmates in the jail yesterday, compared to the normal limit of 340.
There is a similar problem in most prisons in Ireland, with a total of 500 more people in custody than the bed capacity. A governor in Castlerea Prison, Graham Maher, says the west Roscommon jail is managing the problem:
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