Vol. 532 No. 1
309 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the differential remission that applies as between female offenders and male offenders; the reason for such differential; and the plans he has to change policy in this regard. [6789/01]
The current provision relating to remission is rule 38(1) of the rules for the Government of Prisons, 1947, which states:
A convicted prisoner sentenced to imprisonment, whether by one sentence or cumulative sentences, for a period exceeding one calendar month, shall be eligible, by industry and good conduct, to earn a remission of a portion of his imprisonment, not exceeding one-fourth of the whole sentence, provided that the remission so granted does not result in the prisoner being discharged before he has served one month.
There is no differential in the granting of remission between male and female offenders. In the context of the consolidation and modernisation of the prison rules generally, at present under way, the rules governing remission rates are being reviewed.
