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Prisoners In Midlands Prison Receive Around €1m In 'Pocket Money'

Thursday, 3 March 2022 06:57

According to freedom of information figures, the state paid prisoners in Ireland over €3m.

The state paid prisoners over €3m in pocket money last year. 

According to freedom of information figures, they also got nearly €5m in gifts from family and friends. 

At the moment, there are just under 4,000 prisoners in 13 jails across the state. 

Every inmate receives a daily allowance from the Irish Prison Service, which they can spend in the tuck shop. 

The standard rate is €1.70 cents a day, but this rises to €2.20 for well-behaved prisoners and is cuts to €0.95c for bad behaviour. 

Inmates can get additional payments of up to €3.50 a week for working in areas like kitchens or launderies, or for painting. 

Last year prisoners got a total of nearly €3.1munder these schemes. 

Prisoners got a further €4.9m in gifts from family and friends.

Just under €1m of that was given to inmates in the country's biggest jail - Midlands Prison in Portlaoise. 

Former governor of Mountjoy and Portlaoise Prisons, John Lonergan says the amount is small but can also be used to incentivise prisoners:

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