381. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the timeline for the spending of the additional spending allocated to education in prison under Budget 2025. [40197/24]

I can advise the Deputy that the aim of prison education is to deliver a high quality, broad, flexible programme of education that supports people in custody to cope with their sentence, achieve personal development, prepare for life after release and establish an appetite and capacity for life-long learning.

The Irish Prison Service seeks to deliver relevant programmes that cater for holistic needs, ensuring broad access and high participation, and prioritising those with basic education and literacy needs. It promotes the principles of adult and community education and supports a multi-disciplinary approach within the prison system.

Expenditure through the Irish Prison Service Vote covers the incidental day-to-day costs of running the Education Centres in each prison and Open Centre, including the purchase and repair of educational equipment, and the purchase of course resource materials and educational software.

The timeline for the spend of the increase in budget for educational services will be over the year 2025 in line with increased numbers, in addition to groups and initiatives including the work of the Prison Education Taskforce and the Building Bridges project.