Reform group urges caution on prisoner tagging

The head of the Irish Penal Reform Trust Liam Herrick has said that the electronic tagging of prisoners could work in some circumstances, but questions about the system need to be answered.

Mr Herrick's comments follow the news that the Irish Prison Service is planning to trial use of the tags on low-risk prisoners.

The service has advertised on the Government e-tenders website, seeking the services of a company that can supply the electronic monitoring technology.

Mr Herrick said a cautious approach is needed.

"Because tagging only really provides certain information, it can only be used for certain types of offenders," he said.

"For example it can tell you were someone is, but with sexual offending the majority (of that) is carried out in people's homes."