More than €1 million was spent on the electronic tagging of 151 prisoners between 2014 and 2021, according to figures reported by RTÉ.

The information was released by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, in response to a parliamentary question on by Laois-Offaly Independent TD Carol Nolan.

The Irish Prison Service stopped electronic tagging last year, after consultation with the Department of Justice, citing concerns about value for money.

Average cost rose

The Government is, however, planning new legislation that will provide for the electronic tagging of sex offenders.

The figures obtained by Deputy Nolan show that, since 2018, more than half of the total amount (€562,291) was spent tagging 37 prisoners. Between 2014 and 2018, it cost €523,468 to tag 114 prisoners.

According to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, this meant that the average cost of tagging each prisoner between 2014 and 2018 was €4,591, compared with an average of €15,197 between 2018 and 2021.