Bernard Allen
Question:16 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the current cost of keeping a person in prison for a year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15563/00]
Written Answers. - Prisoner Costs.
The overall annual average cost of keeping an offender in custody is estimated at £54,431 for 1999. This figure represents an increase of just under 2% over the figure for 1998. A breakdown between institutions is not yet available.
This figure is calculated by averaging out the current running costs of the prisons and places of detention against the average number of offenders over a certain period, in this case the year 1999. The equivalent figure for the year to date in 2000 is not yet available.
These running costs include certain items which are fixed no matter what the level of prisoners in custody, i.e. mainly officers' wages but also such items as lighting and heating. Therefore it would be wrong to assume that each addition to the prison population will result in increased expenditure of £54,431 per annum.