Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 4 Feb 1999

Vol. 499 No. 5

Written Answers. - Prison Costs.

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

25 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the annual cost of keeping prisoners in each prison; and his views on whether this expenditure is effective from the point of view of the prisoners and cost effective from the point of view of the State. [2994/99]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The average annual cost of keeping an offender in custody in 1998 was about £52,000. A breakdown between the various prisons and places of detention is not yet available.

By far the largest element of this cost, about 80 per cent, relates to pay and overtime to prison officers. I am not satisfied particularly with the high level of overtime expenditure in the prison service. In this regard, the whole area of prison costs, and especially staffing costs, is being examined at present by a dedicated prisons staffing and operations review team who will be providing me, over the next 12 months, with reports on the most efficient and cost-effective use of staff resources at each of the prisons and places of detention. In the meantime, also, the central and local management of the prison service are engaged in a pro cess of identifying and implementing measures which will reduce the dependence on overtime working in the short term.

The Deputy may be referring in his question to the difference in the cost of keeping an offender in custody against the cost of a non-custodial punishment. In this regard, I should point out that in the majority of cases, offenders who are committed to a custodial sentence had previously undergone some form of non-custodial sentence and imprisonment was a last resort. I am, however, committed to the development of alternatives to custody and I expect to receive, in mid-1999, the final report of the Expert Group on the Probation and Welfare Service.