Teachers and instructors are engaged in two areas i.e. (i) education and work-training for offenders within the prisons, and (ii) in-service training to members of the Garda Síochána.
(i) The Prisons Education Service is staffed by teachers (equivalent to 129 wholetime) supplied by the Department of Education through Vocational Education Committees. These teachers provide a wide curriculum ranging from basic literacy and numeracy to higher academic subjects, arts and crafts, physical, vocational and social education. The salaries of these teachers is approximately £2 million per annum. Other agencies such as the public libraries, third-level institutions and the Arts Council also contribute to prison education. The direct cost of lecturers' fees, materials and equipment for educational activities paid for from the Prison Vote was £430,000 in 1991.
The Work-Training service in the prisons provides tuition and experience for offenders in a broad range of activities, including training in industrial and technical skills. A total of 116 staff are employed in the service, all of whom are members of the prison service. Expenditure on Work-Training in 1991 was as follows: