As of 21 October 2003, there were 298 prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences. This represents approximately 11% of the sentenced prison population. As has been outlined to the House on a number of occasions, there are four forms of direct therapeutic intervention available to sex offenders within the Irish prison system at present. These are: individual counselling from the Irish Prisons Service's psychology service and from the probation and welfare service; the multidisciplinary thinking skills group work programme in Cork Prison, Arbour Hill Prison and the Curragh Place of Detention; the sex offender programme, which has been in operation in Arbour Hill Prison since 1994 and was introduced in the Curragh Place of Detention in 2000; and the psychiatric service which provides some support to prisoners in this category.