Michael Creed
Question:179 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the guidelines applicable in his Department when considering prisoners for early release. [27052/01]
Written Answers. - Prisoner Releases.
All prisoners have the opportunity to make requests for temporary release through their prison governor. Decisions on temporary release applications and the general management of prison sentences are made either by myself or by senior officials from the prisons division of my Department.
Review meetings are held on a regular basis in each institution to facilitate the exchange of information and aid decision making. Each meeting is chaired by the governor with the attendance of senior prison management, probation and welfare staff, chaplains, teachers, other prison staff and an official from the prisons division of my Department. In addition, the Interim Parole Board may also advise me in relation to temporary release for prisoners coming before them. The board may review the cases of eligible prisoners serving determinate sentences of eight years or more but less than 14 years at the half sentence stage, and in the cases of prisoners serving sentences of more than 14 years or life sentences, at the seven year stage of sentence. The sentence review group had previously advised me in relation to the cases prisoners who had served more than seven years of a determinate or indeterminate sentence. The review group concluded its work in June of this year and the Interim Parole Board has now begun to interview eligible prisoners.
Before granting temporary release careful consideration is given in each individual case to a number of factors including the nature and seriousness of the offence, previous record, behaviour in custody and-or during previous periods of temporary release, length of sentence served and any compassionate grounds which merit special consideration. The primary concern in considering whether to grant temporary release is the safety and security of the public. In this regard, the risk of the person not returning to prison following the period of temporary release or of committing an offence during the period of temporary release is always considered. It is important to note that decisions are only made following consultations with the Garda and local prison officials. Other matters considered are whether the prisoner has engaged constructively with the various prison based therapeutic services such as the Probation and Welfare Service, educational and work training programmes, and-or drug treatment programmes.
In the majority of cases, temporary release is granted for constructive and rehabilitative reasons. For example, a prisoner may be released to attend educational and-or training programmes or courses. Another reason is to participate in work training with recognised agencies such as CERT, FÁS or PACE. The aim of this form of temporary release is to help the prisoner with employment prospects on the outside which will have the effect of reducing the risk of reoffending. In addition, short periods of temporary release to visit family members may be granted to prisoners in an effort to reduce the effects of institutionalisation and to aid familiarisation with the outside world.
It should of course be noted that in the past a persistent high level of overcrowding in the committal institutions in the Dublin area resulted in the granting of release in an unstructured manner to many offenders at an early stage in their sentences. The construction of 1,200 new prison spaces in recent years has created a situation whereby the prison service is in a position to accommodate the vast majority of prisoners for the entire duration of their sentences. The "revolving door" system is now largely a thing of the past. Of the total population of persons under sentence, the proportion on temporary release has declined from 19% in 1997 to a current figure of about 6%.
The Government recently approved the publication of a Criminal Justice (Temporary Release) Bill, 2001. The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Criminal Justice Act, 1960, so as to provide a clearer legislative basis for the power to grant temporary release by setting down the principles which will apply in the exercise of this power. This Bill will provide a clear and transparent basis, as well as the necessary safeguards required, for the operation of the system of temporary release.