Prison service abandons electronic tag programme as it is not 'cost-effective'

Under the scheme, prisoners wore a tag around their ankle to monitor their movements when on release, with the information relayed back to headquarters. File picture: Reuters/Pascal Rossignol

The Irish Prison Service abandoned a project to electronically tag prisoners after spending more than €850,000 and deciding it was neither “cost-effective” nor “value for money”.

An analysis of the project found the average cost per prisoner for the tagging was just over €12,000 per inmate over the course of 18 months.