Rape and sexual assaults more than double in Laois Offaly since 2003

Reported rape and sexual assaults have more than doubled in Laois/Offaly in the past 20 years. 

Laois Offaly had the highest increase in recorded sexual offences outside of Dublin, according to figures presented by Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú. 

Ms Ní Mhurchú has described the figures as a wakeup call to action and said “it is clear we are dealing with an epidemic of violence against women”.

She said CSO(Central Statistics Office) figures show an upward trend in the offence of ‘rape and sexual assault’ across most Garda divisions in Ireland over the past 20 years. In Laois/Offaly the figure had risen by 255%, the highest of any area outside of Dublin. It is noted that populations have also risen in many areas since 2003.  See table below. 

Ms Ní Mhurchú, who is a former family law barrister, called for a suite of measures to tackle dramatic rises in violence against women which should include, a review of sentencing for violent crimes against women and  advanced training for circuit and district court judges to the sensitivities involved in such cases.

She also wants more consultation rooms for victims in the courts and a more victim centred approach.

Ms Ní Mhurchú called for “a thorough investigation into why we have seen tenfold increases in the number of rapes and sexual assaults across every county in Ireland” and more focused measures to rehabilitate sexual offenders in prison.

She said she will be requesting a meeting with Justice Minister, Jim O’Callaghan, to discuss the immediacy of what she has termed a crisis.  

Figures released to her under FOI by the Irish Prison Service show that as of May 31, 2025, there were 800 sexual offenders in Irish prisons costing the state almost €80 million annually to house.

“That is 16% higher than on May 31st, 2024 when 692 sexual offenders were jailed in our prison system. Back in 2018, there were only 172 sexual offenders in our prisons,” Ms Ní Mhurchú said. 

The figures also show that 235 sex offenders were released from Irish Prisons in 2024, an increase of 34% on 2023 when just 175 sex offenders were released from Irish prisons. Up to May 31st 2025, 103 sex offenders were released from Irish prisons.

Ní Mhurchú has raised concerns about the Irish prison system’s ability to rehabilitate sexual offenders and questioned the value for money of spending €80 million euros of taxpayers money every year to house sex offenders that we are not treating.

The Building Better Lives Programme was an Irish Prison service treatment programme for sex offenders. Figures provided to Ms Ní Mhurchú in August 2024 showed that just eight sex offenders were participating in the Building Better Lives Programme. Updated figures from the Irish Prison Service show that only six sexual offenders completed the Building Better Lives programme in 2024 before it was eventually cancelled in October 2024.The Irish Prison Service has since developed a new model of intervention for people who are convicted of a sexual offence called ‘New Chapters’.