Donal Carey
Question:42 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Justice the guidelines that exist for the conditional release of offenders.
Written Answers. - Conditional Release of Offenders.
Temporary release of sentenced prisoners may be granted by the Minister for Justice under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act, 1960 and is subject in all cases to certain conditions. In the first place, before the Minister grants temporary release, she or he will have regard to certain factors including the nature of the offence, the length of sentence, the length of time served, behaviour while in custody and, above all, the safety of the public. Release will not be granted in any case where the Minister considers, in the light of the advice available, that it would constitute a threat to the public.
Where temporary release is granted it is always subject to conditions. In all cases there is, not surprisingly, the condition that the person released must continue to be of good behaviour but various other conditions may also be applied in individual cases, for example, that the individual concerned would be subject to supervision by the Probation and Welfare Service, that he or she should report at regular intervals to a Garda station, reside at a particular location, etc. Temporary release automatically ends if any of these conditions are breached and the individual concerned can be immediately returned to custody without warrant or without any court proceedings.
These temporary release arrangements are in effect our system of parole which is a feature of prison systems worldwide and is regarded as an element of positive sentence management.
I have also, of course, announced that I am conducting a full review of prisons policy and practice and that this will include a review of the temporary release system.