Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of the 2641 prisoners referred to in Parliamentary Question No. 476 of 6 November 2007 who had previous convictions prior to the conviction for which they are currently serving a sentence; the average number of previous convictions a current prisoner excluding remand or immigration-related prisoners has; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28909/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that the compilation of statistics relating to all offences for which prisoners have been convicted in the context of their current sentences or previous ones, if applicable, on an individual prisoner basis, would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort to prepare and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 214: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the resources he has already made available to detail and analyse the patterns and statistics of repeat offending of convicted criminals and recidivism; the resources he plans on making available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28910/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service facilitated the first major study of prisoner re-offending by the UCD Institute of Criminology. The study found that 27.4% of released prisoners were serving a new prison sentence within one year. This rose to 39.2% after two years, 45.1% after three years, and 49.2% after four years. The findings are in line with international experience, and I understand that they may in fact be considered to fall in the mid to lower range of recidivism internationally. While these figures are high, they still show that just over 50% of prisoners do not re-offend within four years of release, which compares well internationally.

In order to reduce the rates of re-offending, it is vital that offenders, or those who come in contact with the law, are targeted at as early an age as possible. Significant progress has been made in recent years in creating a more effective youth justice system, based on principles which are set out in the Children Act 2001, as amended. The Office of the Minister for Children has brought greater coherence to children's policy across government Departments. The Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS), an Executive Office of my Department which is co-located in the office of the Minister for Children, has responsibility for developing youth justice policy and operating the children detention schools.

The Irish Youth Justice Service is committed to developing information and data on youth offending and this will be an objective in the forthcoming National Youth Justice Strategy which will cover the period 2008-2010. The Irish Youth Justice Service is contributing to a research on recidivism and young offenders. This study is a continuation of the UCD study and will focus on young offenders. This study will be a valuable addition to the research available on recidivism, in particular in respect of young offenders.