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Shock seven-figure sum spent on inmate education courses in Irish prisons including yoga, coffee training & wood burning
MORE than €1.5 million was spent on education services in Ireland's prisons last year.
Irish prison inmates were offered up to 100 different courses, including yoga, barista training and film studies
New figures show that the
A total of 6,765 prisoners participated in courses last year, including 1,131 from Midlands Prison, 870 from
The number of lags who attended courses last year exceeded the actual daily prisoner population at any one time, due to the high levels of prisoner turnover.
According to the Irish Prison Service, nearly four out of five inmates were serving sentences of less than 12 months in 2024.
READ MORE IN PRISON
The newly-released records also reveal there were 220 whole time teacher equivalents provided by the
Although an estimated 70 per cent of Irish
A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said educational services were tailored to 'meet the needs of prisoners through helping them cope with their sentence, achieve personal development and prepare for life after release'.
The spokesperson continued: 'There are education centres in all prisons and all prisoners can avail of education services while in custody.
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'Prisoners attend an education interview with the Head or Deputy Head
'LIFELONG LEARNING'
'The learner then receives their student timetable for the weekly classes they are timetabled to attend.
'Courses are delivered with a focus on providing education which is quality-assured, student-centred and which facilitates lifelong learning.
'In general, education programmes are adapted to take account of the diversity of the prisoner population and the complex nation of prison life, including segregation requirements and high levels of prisoner turnover.'
Amongst the new developments in prisoner education is an innovative programme at
Number of prisoners who participated in education services in 2024
Arbour Hill - 176
Castlerea - 444
Cloverhill - 484
Cork - 504
Limerick - 655
Loughan - 303
Midlands - 1,131
Dochas - 398
Mountjoy Male - 870
Mountjoy West - 484.
Portlaoise - 330
Shelton - 163
Training Unit - 98
Wheatfield - 725
Total - 6,765
The 'Inside Out' initiative saw 23 students - including 13 criminology students from UCC and 10 learners from Cork Prison - graduate recently from the programme.
Dr Katharina Swirak, the UCC-based programme's lead, has said she would like to see the initiative expanded to prisons across the country.
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Many prisoners, including lags in Mountjoy, have taken part in the educational programme
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
