Vol. 486 No. 1
763 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a prisoner (details supplied) is serving his entire sentence in the open style prison in Castlerea; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this apparently lenient sentence is causing great distress to his victims. [1537/98]
It is a long established practice not to comment on individual cases and I do not propose to make an exception to this practice in this case. I would like to say, however, that Castlerea place of detention is not an "open style" prison. While it has been described as a "semi-open" institution it has, in common with traditional closed institutions, a high level of perimeter security including a 25 foot high wall.
Transfers of prisoners between the various institutions, including to and from the place of detention at Castlerea, take place on a regular basis for sound operational reasons and are an essential element in the overall management of the prison system. Consequently, the fact that a person is currently serving a sentence in Castlerea place of detention does not necessarily mean that the whole of his sentence will be served in that institution.
The question of the sentence imposed on any person convicted of an offence is entirely a matter for the courts. The courts are completely independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. Consequently I am precluded from commenting on or intervening in the outcome of any particular court case.
