Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 25 Jul 1996

Vol. 468 No. 4

Written Answers. - Recapture of Prisoners.

Liz O'Donnell

Question:

666 Ms O'Donnell asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners who absconded from places of detention in each of the past three years who were recaptured and returned to prison; the number of prisoners who are still unlawfully at large, having breached temporary release bonds or absconded from detention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15797/96]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

Information is not maintained, at present, in such a way as to provide the information on recaptures requested by the Deputy.

However, the total cumulative number of persons unlawfully at large on 23 July 1996 was 1,316. It should be noted that the term "unlawfully at large" may refer to a person who has absconded from custody or breached the conditions of their temporary release by, for example, failing to sign on on a regular basis. This latter category would, therefore, already be released before they would become a statistic for the purposes of being "unlawfully at large".