Irish prisoner numbers continue to rise

Inmate numbers continue to climb in Irish prisons, according to the latest report from the Irish Prisons Service.

The IPS's annual report for 2003 , launched today, reveals a 0.3 per cent increase in the daily numbers of those in custody to 3,176, while committals under sentence rose by 5.5 per cent to 5,314 in 2003. The number of those sent to prison in 2003 increased by 1 per cent to 9,814.

The cost of keeping an offender in prisoner has also increased to €87,950, up €3,200 on 2002 figures. According to the IPS report, this is mainly a reflection of staffing costs and underlines the fact that sending offenders to prison must "remain the sanction of last resort".

The IPS has also made efforts to eliminate the "overtime culture" throughout the service.

Overall, total committal figures fell by 0.72 per cent to 11,775 in 2003. A person can be committed several times in one year, for example, on remand pending trial.

Of those committed,  44.8 per cent were committals under sentence, 15.8 per cent were committals under immigration laws, 39 per cent were for remand or trial, and 0.4 per cent were for contempt of court.

There were 1,020 people under the age of 21 jailed, an increase of 403 on the previous year,  but 218 less than the same age group in 2001.

About 62 per cent of those in custody throughout 2003 were sentenced for offences against the person or property with violence.

The majority of non-national prisoners (1,852) were committed for immigration offences, with 1,452 spending less than seven days in prison.