In 2023, the median earnings of people who had received a probation order three years earlier was €628, 6% less than the median earnings of all employees (€665).
People who were released from custodial sentences during 2020 and active in employment in 2023 had lower median weekly earnings (€655) than the overall population of all employees (€665). More specifically, females released in 2020 and active in employment during 2023 (€457) earned 23% less per week than the female population of all employees (€594) while males (€679) earned 7% less when compared to the population of male employees (€729).
The difference in the median weekly earnings between probationers and all employees reduced in the period following their probation supervision. In 2020, the year in which they received a sanction, probationers earned a median income of €518, 12% less than the earnings of all employees (€589). In 2023, three years after receiving their court sanction, probationers earnings were €628, 6% less than the median earnings of all employees (€665).
In 2023, three years after receiving a probation order, females earned a median weekly wage of €434, which was €160 less per week than the median earnings of all female employees (€594).
Re-offenders consistently earned less than non-re-offenders. In 2021, a year after receiving probation, re-offenders earned €526 per week compared with €575 for non-re-offenders.
Overall, the number of former probationers (+2%) and former prisoners (+14%) who were engaged in paid employment increased between January 2020 and December 2023. During the same period, the overall employee participation rate rose by 13%.
Comparable indices show the levels of employment participation for former probationers who received probation orders in 2020 declined from June 2022 onwards when compared with all employees.
The levels of employment participation for people released from custody in 2020 remained similar to the population rates following their release.
| Probationers | Persons released from prison | All persons | |
| 2017 | 468 | 501 | 538 |
| 2018 | 478 | 498 | 553 |
| 2019 | 507 | 557 | 572 |
| 2020 | 518 | 581 | 589 |
| 2021 | 561 | 574 | 620 |
| 2022 | 595 | 628 | 637 |
| 2023 | 628 | 655 | 665 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (12 May 2025) published Circumstances of People Linked to Justice Sanctions 2017-2023.
Commenting on the release, Felix Coleman, Statistician in the Crime and Criminal Justice Division, said: "Today’s release provides information on the earnings and paid employment of former probationers or former prisoners from 2020 for the three years prior to and post sanction. Additional insights are also provided for the employment and earnings of these people by age, sex, and re-offending tendency. In summary, former probationers’ weekly earnings from employment were less than the median or mid-point weekly earnings for all employees in 2023. Estimates indicate that in 2023, three years after probation supervision, median weekly earnings were €628, 6% less than the equivalent earnings for all employees (€665). In comparison, the weekly earnings of former prisoners released during 2020 at €655 were less (<2%) than the population's median earnings (€665) during the same period.
COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 Trends
In addition to slightly lower median earnings, former probationers from 2020 also experienced a relative decline in employee participation after 2022 when compared with the overall population of employees. Employment participation levels for former probationers from 2020 until 2022 responded in a comparable way to that of all employees, however estimates indicate that when the labour market returned to pre COVID-19 trends of growth, probationers’ participation as employees began to decline.
Personal Characteristics and Earnings
Younger age groups of former probationers or former prisoners tend to be paid a similar or greater amount from employment when compared with the overall population of employees. For example, former probationers in 2020 aged under 21 earned €301 per week in 2023, over 17% more than the weekly pay of all persons (€253). In contrast, former probationers aged 41 to 50 in the same year earned €731 a week, 13% less than the pay received by all employees in the same age category (€832).
Females that were released from custodial sentences in 2020 experienced an initial rise and then fall in earnings following release. Their earnings in 2023 of €457, three years following release, were 5% lower than in 2021 (€479) although females typically make up just 8% of the prison release population. Females released in 2023 also experienced a greater difference in earnings than males when compared to the population. The median earnings for females released in 2020 and earning in 2023 was 23% less than the median earnings for all female employees in the same period while males who had also been released in 2020 earned 7% less than the population of all male employees in 2023. Former prisoners or former probationers that were linked to re-offending within a year of discharge tended to earn less from employment. For example, in 2023, three years after receiving probation, those who had re-offended within a year of receiving probation had weekly earnings of €582, €57 less a week than those not linked to a further conviction (€639 per week).”