Just 1% of the sex offenders in Ireland’s prisons are engaging with the State’s treatment programme.

New Irish Prison Service figures released to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú show that the number of sex offenders in custody in Ireland has quadrupled since 2018.

The Freedom of Information figures show that there were 692 sexual offenders serving prison time in Ireland at the end of May – up from just 172 in 2018.

The data also shows that just eight of the sexual offenders currently serving time are engaging with the State’s flagship ‘Building Better Lives’ programme, which was launched in 2009.

On Newstalk Breakfast today, Sexual Violence Centre CEO Mary Crilly said prisoners who fail to engage with the programme should never be considered for early release.

“Many sentences are too short,” she said. “If someone gets 10 years, they’ll get 25% off anyway.

“I think if you don’t engage with the programme, you shouldn’t get the discount – because if [sex offenders are] getting out in no time, they just don’t see the point.”

Victim mentality

Ms Crilly added that sex offenders often “see themselves as the victim.”

“I have spoken to many sex offenders over the years, and I often wished victims could hear what they’re saying,” she said.

“I wish they could hear how angry and dogmatic they are, how they say they planned it, premeditated it, or that she deserved it.

“Any feelings the victim had about it being their fault would disappear, and I think these figures show that these offenders are in prison with like-minded people.

“They’re not really locked up; they’re allowed to go out on the landing and chat because they’re not seen as at risk.”

A general view of Cork Prison in Cork city, 3-4-16. Image PA Images / Alamy

She urged all sex offenders to engage with the treatment programme to “change their behaviour.”

“Some of them might not be suitable for the programme because 25% are in total denial, and another 25% are appealing their sentence,” she said.

“Others have short sentences and can’t do the Better Lives programme, which lasts two years.

“These are men who would have pleaded not guilty in court, put their victims through horrendous experiences, and when a jury found them guilty, they still denied it—they have no motivation to change.”

According to the figures, 175 sex offenders were released back into the community in Ireland in 2023, many of whom had no rehabilitative treatment whatsoever.

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Main image: Midlands Prison in Portlaoise. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie