The amount of people sent to prison has fallen by nearly a third this year.
Almost 3,000 people were jailed in the first half of 2020, compared to nearly 4,200 at the same time last year.
There was a reduction in court sittings and serious crime during the pandemic.
However Fíona Ní Chinnéide, from the Irish Penal Reform Trust, fears prison populations will rise sharply now courts are returning to normal
