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Irish prisons paid €3 million in 'pocket money' to inmates last year

The Irish Prison Service has paid out over €27 million in pocket money to prisoners since 2009.

shutterstock_174659255 Shutterstock / sakhorn Shutterstock / sakhorn / sakhorn

CONVICTED CRIMINALS WERE paid almost €3 million in pocket money while serving time in Irish prisons last year, new figures have revealed.

Every inmate in a prison here receives a daily allowance from the Irish Prison Service (IPS), which can be used to buy discretionary items such as magazines, confectionery or cigarettes.

A total of €27,378,910 has been gifted to prisoners under the taxpayer-funded scheme since 2009.

Last year alone, €2,935,300 was doled out to inmates of the State’s 14 detention centres; representing an increase of €214,179 compared to 2015.

Midlands Prison in Portlaoise accounted for €649,922 of the total amount last year, while prisoners at Mountjoy Prison received €391,348 in pocket money during the same period.

The full breakdown for Irish prisons from 2015 is:

  • Midlands €649,922
  • Mountjoy €391,348
  • Wheatfield €354,173
  • Cloverhill €279,085
  • Castlerea €233,166
  • Cork €197,674
  • Limerick €184,565
  • Portlaoise €163,666
  • Arbour Hill €126,840
  • Loughan House €98,782
  • Shelton Abbey €85,915
  • Mountjoy Women’s Prison €85,487
  • Training Unit (Dublin) €84,581
  • St Pat’s Institution €94
  • TOTAL €2,935,300

Prior to 2012, all inmates were entitled to a flat-rate gratuity payment of €2.35 per day. However, an incentivised regime was subsequently introduced allowing prisoners’ pocket money to be increased or reduced depending on their behaviour.

A standard daily rate of €1.70 now applies but this can be increased to an “enhanced” rate of €2.20 per day if a prisoner is compliant, or reduced to a “basic” rate of 95c per day if a prisoner misbehaves.

Records released by the IPS under the Freedom of Information Act show that 46% of the prison population were on the “enhanced” rate of €2.20 per day towards the end of last year.

A further 47% of prisoners were being paid the daily allowance at the standard rate of €1.70 per day, while just 7% of inmates had been downgraded to the “basic” rate of €0.95 per day.

A spokesperson for the IPS said that the incentivised regime had provided for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and quality of behaviour.

“The objective is to provide tangible incentives to prisoners to participate in structured activities and to reinforce good behaviour, leading to a safer and more secure environment,” he said.

In addition to the daily allowance, prisoners may also receive additional payments under the Approved Working Gratuity Scheme, which rewards work in areas such as kitchens, laundry, grounds maintenance, painting, and cleaning.
The amount paid for engagement in these activities is €0.50 per session, up to a maximum of €3.50 per week.

Monies paid to prisoners can be spent on a broad range of discretionary items from the prison tuck shop such as toiletries or tobacco, as well as television rental and other services. It can also be saved and made available to prisoners upon their release.

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    Mute Darren Mccarthy
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:50 AM

    Should be deducted from their social welfare payments/salary when they get out…thats whats wrong with this country….its a handout haven.

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:58 AM

    @Darren Mccarthy: it’s not a handout haven darren .. it’s a TAX HAVEN

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    Mute Chris Finn
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    Jan 24th 2017, 1:56 AM

    @patient have you ever worked a day in your life?

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 24th 2017, 3:09 AM

    @Chris Finn: yes –> now f*ck off :)

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    Mute Cranium
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:36 AM

    Why can’t they set up some kind of manufacturing companies within the prisons and make them work for it. It would have the added benefits of the prisons making money to cover costs, less boredom amongst the prisoners (hence less fights) and training prisoners in new areas that could possibly lead to employment on release. Is it too much to ask for a bit of joined up thinking in this country?

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:00 AM

    @Cranium: you want slave labour? actual SLAVERY

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    Mute Niallers
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:07 AM

    Sounds good Cranium but it would be abused and corrupted. Cleaning graffiti off walls and sweeping the streets would be better.

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    Mute Ger
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:37 AM

    This is done in the USA and is thought by many to fuel prison numbers there. Prison based manufacturing is such a big business over there it would be counter productive to try to reduce the prison population. In several Irish prisons there are “work shops” where prisoners are assigned to and they make products for use within the prison systems. I think it would be a mistake to have prisoners treated as some sort of low cost labor, possibly taking away jobs from people on the outside.

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    Mute Daisy Chai NSaw
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:50 AM

    Would you pay them at least min wage, tax, prsi, pension cons etc… Or do you just want slavery?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:10 AM

    Cranium. The Government can’t. Because of both European and International Human Rights Treaties that we are signatory to. They may only provide services and produce things for use within the Prison System or for non profit charity ie: garden benches for sheltered housing projects etc.

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    Mute David Cullen
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:34 AM

    it costs about €92k to keep someone locked up the work could help pay for this. sitting around playing PS4 and smoking isn’t going to help anyone

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    Mute Eoghan O Braonain
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 3:19 PM

    That’s called Slavery, and it’s a huge problem in America.

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    Mute Free comment ratings
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 6:48 PM

    Call it what you like, I think it’s a great idea. We could call it prison slavery?

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    Mute Chris Finn
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    Jan 24th 2017, 1:55 AM

    @eogham et al

    Slavery is working for free. Working to pay for food bed PlayStation pocket money insurance heating television television licence sky Tv facilities sky and also your debt to society isn’t slavery the last time I checked. Do you think it’s better they do nothing eoghan?

    Oh btw in case you didn’t notice most (**not all**) of these people are spineless thieving raping violent limescale dogs who wouldn’t do anything for society

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    Mute Donal Carey
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:54 AM

    Another great incentive by the government when you go Jail and do your time it should be so bad that you will never want to return .

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:57 AM

    @Donal Carey: say if you ended up in prison unjustly donal. what would you think then?

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    Mute cholly appleseed
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:20 AM

    Name one person in Irish prison there unjustly?

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:23 AM

    @cholly appleseed: lots of categories

    eg

    the wrongly convicted.

    many say the war on drugs/people is unjust.

    do you want more?

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    Mute CeannairBlue
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:37 AM

    @patient pNibbler: Oh go away you pointless little troll.

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:41 AM

    @CeannairBlue: i’m not on trolling duty today

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    Mute Daisy Chai NSaw
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:52 AM

    I thought I saw your name on the roster… Or maybe that’s for tomorrow.

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:02 AM

    @Daisy Chai NSaw: yeah it’s back to the grindstone tomorrow :(

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    Mute Donal Carey
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:03 AM

    @patient pNibbler
    Another do gooder give me a break that’s why the jails are like holiday camps.

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    Mute cholly appleseed
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:41 AM

    Who are these alleged wrongly convicted? Also it is a well known fact that judges throw put suspended sentences for drug dealing etc.. so they have to be as guilty as sin with 10s of previous convictions before being even considered

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    Mute Rodger 5
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:36 AM

    Perhaps it should have gone on ‘free’ legal aid instead.

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    Mute bings
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:17 AM

    Give them no money will help bring down the health cost in some areas of prison life. No money cant smoke,

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:59 AM

    @bings: have you not heard of vaping?

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    Mute Barney r
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:58 AM

    So its free legal aid, counselling, pocket money, while the victims gets nothing.

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    Mute MyBrokenKnees
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:58 AM

    Privatise the prison system.

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:02 AM

    @MyBrokenKnees: would that not give a profit motive to lock people up?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:20 AM

    MyBorkenKnees. We have seen the results of Privatisation in the UK in the past few months. How many riots have there been, 17 I think from info from friends over there. And know the UK Government are so desperate to recruit staff that they are reduced to employ people to hand out recruitment leaflets on the streets to try and get people to join the Her Majesties Prison Service. And the Private companies are losing staff faster than ever.

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    Mute Charliegrl80
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:53 AM

    Well for them, in the states prisoners have to work in the prison service, on the chain gangs cleaning the motorways, we pay a maintenance crews to clean or road ways, in the prison they make number plates, and work in the laundries and kitchens many jobs for those prisoner that are not high security. They or their families have to pay for their own upkeep in the jails including food, cigarettes and toiletries. Prisoners here are treated like kids and given everything including the dole and if the have a partner outside they also get a welfare payment, if someone goes to prison make prison pay such as doing community work everyday, when the recession happened many of the community place have become run down as they have no one or cannot pay someone to maintain them.

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    Mute Pa Cantillon
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:02 AM

    @Charliegrl80: Prisoners don’t get the dole….Did you not read the article?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 12:15 PM

    Charlirgrl80: The Chain Gangs in the US even though a great idea are all voluntary. Volunteering to work on the Chain Gangs gets you a extra remission on your sentence and other privileges. And as here each inmate is given a daily gratuity under Federal Statute. What some Prison Authorities have done (Maracopa County for example) is to say that the inmates daily gratuity has to pay for non essential services for inmates and thus take said gratuity as payment.

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    Mute Liam John Bradshaw
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:41 AM

    Hopefully this figure will shame TD’s who are picking up in the region of €50K for unexplained expenses. The few €’s they do pick up wouldn’t actually buy them anything of value except for the tuck shop expenses!

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    Mute John Flood
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 11:16 AM

    Television rental?

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 11:34 AM

    Yep. Every TV in every cell is paid for by a deduction in the daily gratuity. Play Stations, radios etc are bought outright by each inmate. Families of inmates can also leave in money that goes into a separate account for the inmate to use. But no Deductions can be taken from the private funds account.

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    Mute Rathminder
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:10 AM

    For me, those figures show that money talks, with the smallest group on the basic daily scheme. Just imagine that this might be the case for some (or many) if there were jobs available upon release! I know, the “tuck shop” out of prison contains many temptations, but we’d likely see a lower recidivism rate. Behaviour modification has been seen as effective with pets, children and even (unknowing) adults.

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    Mute Science of beer
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 11:18 AM

    Money should be diverted to homeless services

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    Mute Val Martin
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 7:49 AM

    If I were a lawyer, I think I could argue that denying a prisoner a fag it cruel or unusual punishment. So these prisoners get money for tobacco products

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    Mute Darren Mccarthy
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 8:06 AM

    @Val If its cruel to deny a prisoner something he/she is addicted to then by your logic should they be denied alcohol or drugs? Could you argue that one councillor?

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:04 AM

    @Darren Mccarthy: not all drugs are not created equal –> eg caffeine is a drug

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    Mute patient pNibbler
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 9:07 AM

    @patient pNibbler: and people use drugs to self medicate too eg #cannabis helps countless ailments —

    vaping nicotine helps schizophrenia etc…

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    Mute Trisha Tully
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 12:18 PM

    I think you should be a lawyer Darren Mccarthy. Good comeback.

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    Mute Stephen Finn
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 6:11 PM

    any money the poor darlings get should be given to the victims along with any cliams the darlings have that they get if their human rights are breached! plenty of streets need cleaning.

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    Mute #knowingitall
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:08 PM

    Why the F are they getting anything at all. It costs a fortune to keep these people there in the first place without bloody paying them aswell.

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    Mute cortisola
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 11:13 AM

    I would blame Tromp for this !

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    Mute Linda Hughes
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:13 AM

    What about their dole?

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    Mute Michael Lynch
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:51 PM

    They get more pocket money than the wife allows me.

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    Mute SomeRandomIrishGuy
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    Jan 23rd 2017, 10:25 PM

    Seems like pocket change alright to the amount our Government just squander away.

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