More than €80,000 was spent giving prisoners access to premium tv channels last year.
It comes out of their daily allowance - which is used for non-essential items.
It costs prisoners 15 cent a day.
The Irish Prison Service has said accessing the outside world through the use of televisions, can help to tackle the issue of isolation.
Fíona Ní Chinnéide is Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, doesn't believe it should be viewed as a bad thing:
"It's less than €2 per prisoner per month."
"This is a very small price to pay for a reduction of incidents of self-harm and suicide in prison custody."
