Young prisoners in daily 23-hour lock-up

Almost one in 10 of the country’s youngest inmates are in “restricted” regimes which see them in lock-up for up to 23 hours daily.

Department of Justice figures showed there were 212 prisoners under the age of 21 in jails as of April 30. Of those, 47 were 18 or younger.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald was asked by Labour TD Ciarán Lynch how many offenders under 21 were on “restricted” regimes, as well as the number of hours each day they were in lock-up. She said 19 of the 212 were on a regime, including one 17-year-old and two 18-year-olds.