Peter Barry
Question:195 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners who are released with less than (a) one-third and (b) half of their sentence served.
Written Answers. - Release of Prisoners.
Statistics are not readily available which would show the relationship between temporary releases and the lengths of sentences served and these could be compiled only through an examination of the individual records of each offender which would involve the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time. I can inform the Deputy, however, that, apart from periods of temporary release which may be authorised in particular cases, in practice all offenders, serving fixed sentences of longer than one month [with the exception of those serving commuted death sentences] are regarded as entitled to full remission of one-quarter of the total sentence unless all or part of this remission is forfeited as a consequence of breaches of prison discipline.