5th July 2001
276. Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the most recent estimates available to his Department on the rate of reoffending by persons committed to serve a prison sentence, distinguishing the rate of reoffending in so far as possible by age and sex of the offender. [20508/01]
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue): I have been advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that statistics are not maintained in such a way as to enable the precise information sought by the Deputy to be readily available. At present the compilation and analysis of statistics must be done manually and as this is an extremely timeconsuming and staff intensive process it has not been possible to release staff for this work.
A new information technology programme, authorised by me, for the Prison Service is well advanced. As part of the programme a comprehensive prisoner records database is currently being deployed across the Prison Service. This programme will address the lack of accessible information about prisoners, provide management with necessary information and enable the automation of many existing functions.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.