Almost half of offenders released from prison in 2018 re-offended within a year according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The figures also show that two-thirds of those prisoners were sent back to jail for re-offending and that young people are more likely to commit further crimes on release from prison.
The number re-offending decreased in the seven years to 2018 but the Penal Reform Trust said they must be further reduced through post-release supports for offenders.
These figures relate to prisoners released from custody between 2011 and 2018 who went on to commit further crime.
The most common crimes were public order, criminal damage to property, begging and other social code offences.
The recidivism rate was 48% for those released in 2018, down from 54% in 2011.
Younger people were more likely to re-offend with four out of every five of those aged under 21 committing further offences within three years.
One out of every five sex offenders released in 2015 had reoffended by 2018, for burglars the three year recidivism rate was higher with four out of five of them reoffending.
The figures also show that while more men are sent to prison, women were more likely to reoffend within three years of release. 66% of women committed more crime between 2015 and 2018 as opposed to 61% of men.
Almost half of those who were sent to prison for non-payment of fines in 2018 also re-offended within a year.
Today's figures show that in most cases prison is not a deterrent to committing further crime.
The figures are a combination of Garda and Prison Service data and are published "under reservation" because of CSO concerns over the quality of An Garda Síochána's PULSE data.
