Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 15 February 2024
Public Accounts Committee
Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 24 - Justice
Vote 21 - Prisons
9:30 am
Ms Caron McCaffrey:
What percentage have never committed a previous offence? I would say it is very small. Many people, when they get their first custodial sentence, would have had the benefit of probation and other interventions before a judge made a decision to enforce a custodial sentence, so the significant majority of people who are in custody would not be there for their first offence and might have had previous offences.