Vol. 506 No. 2
369 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of pris oners on day or other forms of release; if any of these prisoners are of a special category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15500/99]
There were 407 prisoners on temporary release on Wednesday, 9 June 1999 of whom 346 were male offenders and 61 were female. This represented 13 per cent of the total number of prisoners serving a sentence on that day and also, incidentally, represents a considerable reduction over the past two years in the proportion of prisoners on temporary release – in May 1997 the figure stood at 578 which represented 19 per cent of the total prison population.
The only category of prisoner eligible for temporary release which might be considered to be special category are subversives who are deemed to be qualifying prisoners under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. There were three such subversive prisoners on temporary release on 9 June 1999.
