Official data debunks claims that most prisoners in Ireland are foreign nationals

Recent claims on social media that over 60% of prisoners in Ireland are foreign nationals have been debunked. Official data shows that foreign nationals actually make up about 15-17% of the prison population. The Irish Prison Service reported an average of 4,953 inmates in September, with only 856 classified as non-Irish. This contradicts the viral claim of 2,814 foreign prisoners. A Council of Europe report from June also indicated that only 14.6% of prisoners were non-nationals as of January 2023. The spread of misinformation about crime and foreign nationals has been noted in various false stories circulating online.