Number of inmates serving time for sexual offences surged by nearly 70% in five years

As of last Thursday, there were 5,054 inmates crammed into cells for a maximum of 4,514 people. Picture: Dan Linehan

The number of people serving prison sentences for sexual violence and assaults has surged by nearly 70% over the last five years, according to an Irish Examiner analysis.

This jump – accompanied by an increase in people jailed for drug offences and a smaller rise in homicide and burglary sentences – has shifted the makeup of the prison population towards inmates on longer sentences.