Dublin (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Irish MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchú urges that Sexual offenders in jail need to receive more treatment.
How Many Sexual Offenders Are Currently in Irish Prisons?
The Irish Prison Service has verified to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchú – in a freedom of information request – that there were 692 sexual criminals serving sentences in Irish prisons at the end of May 2024.
What Has Caused the Rise in Sexual Offenders Since 2018?
This is four times more elevated than the equivalent figure for 2018 when just 172 sexual offenders were lodged in Irish prisons. Only eight of the 692 sexual offenders presently in Irish prisons are taking interest in the Building Better Lives programme, the Irish prison service’s flagship therapy programme for sex offenders in custody. Just 15 prisoners finished the programme in 2022, with 29 prisoners finishing the programme in 2023.
According to figures acquired from the Irish Prison Service, 175 sexual offenders were discharged back into the community in Ireland in 2023, many of whom had no rehabilitation therapy whatsoever. According to the Irish Prison Service, offenders who benefit of treatment are three and a half times less likely to re-offend.
Should Parole Be Granted Without Completing Rehabilitation?
MEP Ni Mhurchú, a barrister, has represented the figures as worrying and said there is something fundamentally deficient with how we deal with sex offenders in Ireland. ‘If we know that treating sexual offenders works, then why are we not concentrating on incentives to take part and disincentives for those who choose to sit it out? There are specific things we can do immediately. For example, applications for parole for sexual offenders should not be given if the offender has not benefited from treatment,’ Ni Mhurchú commented.
How Can Ireland Improve Treatment Participation Among Sexual Offenders?
Cynthia Ni Mhurchú has called on the Minister for Justice to include a raft of inducements to ensure that participation rates amongst sexual offenders in Ireland in the Building Better Lives programme gain.
‘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 said.
