And almost half of the offenders claimed to have been abused as a child.
Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the data on substance abuse was further evidence of the “devastating impact” of alcohol and illegal drugs.
Launching the 2013 annual report of the Parole Board, the minister pointed out the average length of time before prisoners were granted supervised temporary release had jumped from just over seven and a half years between 1975 and 1984, to 18 years between 2005 and 2013.
She said she was struck by statistics showing the number of cases reviewed by the Parole Board from 2011 to 2013 that were linked to drink and drugs.
“This is yet further evidence, if any was ever needed, of the devastating impact of the misuse and abuse of alcohol and drugs,” said Ms Fitzgerald.
She said that, when she was children’s minister, she saw the “harsh reality” of the influence of alcohol and drugs in child abuse cases and neglect cases.
“Now, as minister for justice, I am seeing similar trends all over again in terms of the influence on alcohol and drugs on criminal offending.”
She was also concerned at the difficulties experienced by some inmates in accessing therapeutic services and having no therapeutic work undertaken before their first review.
Source: Cormac O'Keefe, Irish Examiner, 11/09/14
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