OVERCROWDING at Limerick Prison last year helped the tuck shop at the prison enjoy record revenues of €1.27m, new figures show.
Figures provided by the Minister for Justice, Migration, and Home Affairs, Jim O’Callaghan, show that the €1.27m spent at the Limerick Prison tuck shop was a 27 per cent rise on the €1m revenues at the same shop in 2024.
The record revenues resulted in a 25 per cent increase in profits at the tuck shop last year to €115,208.
The tuck shops at the Irish prison system’s 11 prisons allows inmates to sell to prisoners a range of confectionery, soft drinks, tobacco products, toiletries, magazines, and other items.
Purchases are made on a cashless basis, with payment for items bought being drawn from prisoners’ personal money accounts.
In a written Dáil reply to Aidan Farrelly (Soc Dems) on the issue, Minister O’Callaghan TD (FF) said that to assist in alleviating the cost of tuck shop items for prisoners, a decision was taken by the Irish Prison Service to change the sales price for all non-tobacco products from February 2021.
He said that tuck shop items are for sale at cost price plus five per cent, with the exception of tobacco, which remains at the recommended retail price.
Minister O’Callaghan stated that the Prisoner Assist Programme Fund is funded from surpluses earned in the prison shops.
He said that surpluses “from the prison shops may also be used on an ad hoc basis, to fund prisoner initiatives as approved by the Directors Leadership Team”.
The overall figures show that prison tuck shops enjoying record revenues of €12.47m for 2025.
The surge in revenues comes against the background of a larger customer base for the tuck shops due to continuing over-crowding at Irish prisons.
On the last day of last year, the Irish prison system was at 122 per cent of bed capacity and this compared to the prison system being at 111 per cent capacity at the end of 2024.