New sex offenders’ centre planned for Dublin prison

A new National Centre for Sex Offenders is to be set up at Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin.

The initiative is one of a range of new measures being brought in to reduce the risk of re-offending and to increase public protection.

Sex offenders will be provided with more treatment while they serve their sentences and offered incentives to take part in treatment programmes.

These will include transfers to open prisons and possible temporary release with electronic tagging.

Prisoners who refuse to take part in the treatment programmes will be removed from the special centre at Arbour Hill to regular prisons.