The former governor of Dublin's Mountjoy Prison believes the only way to reduce crime is by educating people.
John Lonergan was speaking at the Education and Training Board’s conference in City Hall and says he’s seen people in the prison system change their lives by taking part in educational programmes.
The Cork Educational Training Board offer services in apprenticeships, traineeships and post Leaving Cert courses.
Speaking to RedFM News, Former governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan says they need to get more people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the classrooms:
"If you have somebody who is causing difficulty in society, whether that's antisocial behavior, criminality, whatever it is, if you have them in a workshop, if you have them inside the doors of a classroom, you have some chance, you have no chance when they're out on the streets running amok. So that's what connection is about. It's about bringing them in, and to bring them in is often the big challenge. Once you have them in then you have an opportunity to impress them, to inspire them and to motivate them."
