Sex offenders are the 8% of the prison population that society has little regard for during their incarceration but becomes hugely concerned about upon their release. Michael Bambrick is the most recent case in point.

The Sunday Tribune was the first to report last month that Bambrick was due to be released from Dublin's Arbour Hill prison. Bambrick had murdered two women and buried their bodies after having sex with them in separate incidents in the early 1990s.

Until the news of his release emerged, little attention had been paid to this killer and "dangerous sexual predator" since his conviction for double manslaughter in 1996.

Suddenly, there was a plethora of newspaper articles speculating over where he would live and whether he would strike again. On the morning of Bambrick's release, a strong media contingent was waiting in the rain to catch a glimpse of him.

It's the Irish Prison Service's (IPS) responsibility to both house and attempt to rehabilitate prisoners. Arbour Hill is home to 91% of incarcerated male sex offenders. The prison has just rolled out its new rehabilitation programme for this sizeable minority of inmates. It's long overdue.

The new therapy replaces the antiquated sex-offender programme, in place since 1994, which provided intensive therapy to just eight inmates each year and was unpopular with prisoners as it lasted 10 months.

It was also only suitable for sex offenders who were at a high risk of re-offending. The new programme is based on a Canadian system, which Irish prison officials travelled to the Rockwood Foundation in Kingston, Canada, to learn about.

The philosophy behind the programme is that everyone can change and that such change is best facilitated by treating people with respect. It distinguishes people's actions from themselves as individuals and emphasises their strengths as well as targeting their weaknesses.

"The programme is called 'Building Better Lives' and helps build confidence in people to get their lives back on track without shame," explains Dr Esther Lonergan, senior clinical psychologist with the prison service.

"It's based largely on group therapy and the emphasis is on the men supporting each other.

"The old programme was a very good one but a major constraint of it was that only eight people could complete it each year and there was little follow-up in the community."

A Canadian psychiatrist from the Rockford Foundation came to assist with the roll out of the new system at Arbour Hill. It began in January and two inmates have graduated from it.

Notorious

Eight men at any time can participate in its three phases, with potential for up to 60 men taking part each year. Arbour Hill's most notorious prisoners include Larry Murphy (44), the carpenter who became the prime suspect in the disappearance of several women and was jailed for 14 years in May 2001 for the abduction, rape and attempted murder of a Co Carlow woman.

The woman's life was saved when two hunters disturbed Murphy as he attempted to strangle her to death, after raping her twice, in the Wicklow mountains.

With remission, he is due to be released in 2010.

As part of Operation Trace, gardaí questioned him a number of times about the disappearances of waitress Jo Jo Dullard, student Deirdre Jacob and US tourist Annie McCarrick, whose bodies have never been found.

Some 60% of sex offenders in Irish prisons are over the age of 40, and this older population is clearly evident during a tour around Arbour Hill.

Inmates go about their daily activities, of which there is an abundance to choose from in the prison.

There were 323 sex offenders among the prison population at the end of last month. This figure has been steadily increasing year on year, according to Kieran O'Dwyer, director of regimes at the prison service.

All prisoners serving sentences for sexual crimes will be approached to take part in the new therapy programme. The most serious offenders have been approached first.

Whether or not Bambrick – who said he killed his two victims when sex games went badly wrong – participated in the new programme before his recent release is not something the prison service is willing to divulge.

Inmates must voluntarily agree to participate in the new programme. In its first 12-week phase, inmates must give a "disclosure of their offence" where they discuss their crimes in group therapy.

A huge step

"This is a huge step," says Dr Lonergan. "They then give a description of their lives; this often includes a description of the abuse they suffered themselves. We anticipate there will be significant input from the inmates' families in the future."

The programme also focuses on highlighting the inmates' strengths to bolster their confidence so that they won't fall back into destructive behaviour patterns and repeat their crimes upon release.

In phase two and three of the programme, which not all sex offenders necessarily need to participate in, prisoners develop their self-management skills and become "future focused" on how they will manage their lives upon release from prison.

One of the reasons the Canadian model was chosen to be implemented here was that it has been a proven success, with just a 3% re-offending rate among convicted sex offenders who take part.

"First and foremost, this new programme is about ensuring public safety, and we believe we're doing that by trying to provide the best therapy available," said a prison-service spokeswoman.

Sex offenders are given "strong incentives" to participate in the programme, such as supervised temporary release. But they must continue treatment in the community and may be electronically tagged.

There are currently 158 inmates at Arbour Hill. It's the prison many sex offenders request to be transferred to because they aren't targets of violence there, according to governor Liam Dowling.

In the future, sex offenders who refuse to participate in the new programme – those who deny their crimes – may be transferred elsewhere to make space for others who do want to take part in it.

"Because the majority of prisoners here are serving sentences for sex offences, no one is in protective custody and we don't have much of a problem with violence," said Dowling.

"Apart from the odd find of cannabis and ecstasy tablets, it's a drug-free prison also. One of the conditions is that when they get here, the inmates must try and get on with the other prisoners."

It's a sedate, laid-back prison, as most of the inmates have settled into their long prison sentences. There is a wide range of educational opportunities available, and all inmates are on first-name terms with the governor. The prison kitchen has won awards for excellence; the fare would rival the menu at any upmarket restaurant.

It could be easily forgotten that this spotless, comfortable facility is home to some of the country's most dangerous sexual criminals.

"We're very proud of our prison," adds Dowling. "The focus is on rehabilitation."