JUST EIGHT PEOPLE in Irish prisons convicted of a sexual offence are enrolled in the State’s flagship rehabilitation programme.

Records released to Fianna Fáil MEP and former barrister Cynthia Ní Murchú reveal that the number of people in prison convicted of a sexual offence has increased significantly, while the number of people enrolled in the in-house rehabilitation services is falling.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said that the figures reflect the need for better mental health services in prisons and a more inclusive rehabilitation programme.

A total of 692 people are currently imprisoned for sexual offences including sexual assault, rape, child sexual abuse and other forms of sexual violence. The figure has grown significantly from just 172 in 2018, a four-fold increase. 

In 2009 the Irish Prison Service established the Building Better Lives Programme for men convicted of sexual crimes.

The three-step regime is aimed at improving the confidence and motivation of these men to create positive change in their own life, with the first module teaching the men about the benefits of such changes and how they can improve their lives post-sentence. 

The second module allows for the men to focus on gaining a more detailed understanding of their past offending and develop a positive feeling towards an offence-free life, through a self-managed plan for the future.

Lastly, for men who are serving longer sentences, a group aims to support ongoing progress and to ensure a through-care plan from prison to community-based supports after prison.

Psychologists at Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin, where many sex offenders are imprisoned, deliver the programme. One-to-one interventions, interventions by approved in-reach services and other prison-based therapeutic interventions are also available.

A freedom of information request by Ní Murchú, an Ireland South MEP, has found that just 44 people have completed the programme in the last two years: 15 in 2022 and 29 in 2023.

In 2024, only eight people have enrolled in the programme. The documents also detail that a total of 197 people convicted of sexual offences, many of whom did not avail of rehabilitation programmes, were released from prison last year.

This means that a maximum of 7.5% of sex offenders have taken part in the rehabilitation programme in the last three years.

People who take part in this programme must be of stable mental health.

However, the IPRT said with overcrowding in prisons already stretching resources and nearly 2,000 people on waiting lists to see a psychologist, having stable mental health is a barrier to entry for many. 

Gabriel Keneavy, deputy general secretary of the Prison Officer Association, told The Journal that prison staff are calling for more counselling services to be made available in prisons. He added that services are stretched due to increased prisoners population.

The Irish Prison Service, the HSE and the Probation services will shortly commission research into the prevalence of and risk factors relating to mental health illnesses across prisons.

Saoirse Brady, executive director of the IPRT, said she hopes this will provide insights into the mental health situation of people who have committed sexual offences, though it is unlikely to be made available for another 18 months.

Brady also highlighted, however, that the inclusion of a prisoner into the programme is also based on sentence length, risk assessment for re-offending, and capacity to engage in group programmes. People who deny their offence are also excluded.

Ní Murchú said that the State needs to work on incentivising people convicted of sexual offences to enroll in the programme. She added that parole applications should be denied if it is found that someone did not avail of rehabilitation when in prison. 

“Surely, we can do better when it comes to participation in rehabilitative programmes to ensure we reduce reoffending and that the 175 sexual offenders we are releasing into the community annually have had some level of treatment,” the MEP said.

Brady said that the barriers to treatment for people in prison convicted with a sexual offence should be reduced and hopes that an upcoming review, commissioned by the Irish Prison Service earlier this year, into the current treatment for sexual offenders will help to do so.

She also called for the completion of the necessary recruitment to ensure that we see the impact of these changes as soon as possible.