Vol. 538 No. 4
108 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a person (details supplied) was afforded day release; and, if so, the persons who made the decision; if persons were informed of the decision beforehand; if so, the names of the persons informed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18196/01]
It is long standing policy not to discuss the sentence management details of any individual prisoner. However, I feel that I must make an exception in this case as the newspaper reports are completely without foundation. The factual position is that this prisoner has received no form of temporary release since conviction. I would like to take this opportunity to express my strong disappointment that this story was run, particularly in view of the fact that this newspaper was informed by the prison service that the story was untrue the day before publication and also in light of the potential and needless stress and hurt that such inaccurate and unverified reports may have caused to the victim's family.
