Prisoners received €3m in daily allowance last year
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Irish prisoners received a total of almost €3 million in daily allowances last year, according to the Irish Prison Service.
The figures were released to The Irish Times following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the newspaper.
Last year’s total spend was €2.9 million, up €214,179 on 2015.
Midlands Prison accounted for €649,922 of the total, while Mountjoy Prison accounted for €391,348 in the same period.
Prisoners can use the daily allowance to buy discretionary items such as magazines, confectionery or cigarettes.
The standard daily rate is €1.70 per prisoner, but this can go up to €2.20 a day for good behaviour or down to 95 cent a day. The incentivised system was introduced in 2012.
Towards the end of 2016, 46 per cent of the Irish prison population were on the enhanced rate of €2.20 a day, while 47 per cent were on €1.70 a day and just 7 per cent were on 95 cent a day.
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