THE Irish Prison Service has confirmed to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchú – in a freedom of information request – that there were 692 sexual offenders serving sentences in Irish prisons at the end of May 2024.
This is four times higher than the equivalent figure for 2018, when just 172 sexual offenders were housed in Irish prisons. Only eight of the 692 sexual offenders currently in Irish prisons are taking part in the Building Better Lives programme, the Irish prison service’s flagship treatment programme for sex offenders in custody. Just 15 prisoners completed the programme in 2022, with 29 prisoners completing the programme in 2023.
According to figures obtained from the Irish Prison Service, 175 sexual offenders were released back into the community in Ireland in 2023, many of whom had no rehabilitate treatment whatsoever. According to the Irish Prison Service, offenders who avail of treatment are three and a half times less likely to reoffend.
Ni Mhurchú, a barrister, has described the figures as worrying and said there is something fundamentally flawed with the manner in which we deal with sex offenders in Ireland. ‘If we know that treating sexual offenders works, then why are we not focusing on incentives to take part and disincentives for those who choose to sit it out? There are certain things we can do immediately. For instance, applications for parole for sexual offenders should not be granted if the offender has not availed of treatment,’ Ni Mhurchú commented.
The MEP has called on the Minister for Justice to include a raft of incentives to ensure that participation rates amongst sexual offenders in Ireland in the Building Better Lives programme increases.
‘It costs the state €85,000 annually to keep one sexual offender in prison. Surely, we can do better when it comes to participation in rehabilitative programmes to ensure we reduce reoffending and that the 175 sexual offenders we are releasing into the community annually have had some level of treatment,’ Ni Mhurchú concluded.
