I propose to take Questions Nos. 219 and 220 together.
The Deputy will be aware that the Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003 provides that sentenced prisoners may be approved temporary release whether it be for a few hours or a more extended period. The Act sets out the circumstances when temporary release may be provided and what matters must be taken into account.
The granting of temporary release is done by the officials in the Irish Prison Service Headquarters, on my behalf, and as such individual prisons do not operate their own schemes of temporary release. On 15 May 2013 there were 732 prisoners on temporary release or 14.2% of the total number of prisoners in the prison system. Some 131 of these prisoners are participating in the community return programme and 28 are on temporary release from an open centre. In addition, 229 prisoners had been sentenced for failure to pay a court ordered fine and 95 prisoners were serving sentences of less than 6 months.
The Deputy will be aware that the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012-2015 and the recently published Joint Prison Service/Probation Service Strategic Plan 2013-2015 includes commitments to ensure that all prisoners released early from custody are placed on appropriate structured programme of temporary release. The Community Return Scheme is a recently introduced initiative whereby carefully selected prisoners can be granted reviewable temporary release coupled with a requirement to do community service work such as painting, gardening or graffiti removal in a supervised group setting. The type of work involved is intended to assist the community and the scheme is involved with a large number of charitable organisations and local community groups.
The scheme, which was introduced on a pilot basis in October 2011, is applicable to suitably assessed prisoners who are serving sentences of more than one and less than eight years. Those participating are granted renewable temporary release having served at, or after, the 50% stage of their sentence with a condition of their release to undertake supervised community service.
In excess of 510 prisoners have taken part in the initiative since it commenced in October 2011 with 319 prisoners now having completed the programme. Today there are 131 prisoners on community return, which is the highest total at one time since the Programme commenced. Compliance has been almost 90%; and the 10% who did not comply with the terms and conditions of their release on community return were re-committed to prison immediately to serve the rest of their sentence in custody. The Community Return Programme has been a really positive development, and as well as allowing prisoners to complete their sentence by way of performing a service to the community, has significantly helped these prisoners to successfully resettle in their communities.
The Community Return Programme forms part of a wider structured release programme aimed at improving outcomes for prisoners. In addition to Community Return, the Unlocking Community Alternatives Scheme, UCAS, has been set up in Cork. The primary aim of this Scheme is to reduce the current recidivism rates of short term prisoners by arranging for additional support structures and provide for a more structured form of temporary release. This is a pilot scheme and will be reviewed in 12 months in order to assess whether it has had a positive impact on re-offending rates.
The Joint Prison Service/Probation service Strategy will also see a focus on working with short term sentenced prisoners - helping with issues such as housing, medical care, substance abuse, training needs, etc. The aim is to increase support to prisoners - prior to their release from prison, upon their release and then for a period after their release in order to help break the cycle of re-offending. Discussions have been ongoing, in this regard, with a number of external agencies and it is hoped that further initiatives will commence in the near future.
A breakdown of those on temporary release, those on the Community Return Programme and those who have completed the Community Return Programme is set out in the following table.
|
Institution
|
Temporary release (excluding Community Return)
|
Temporary Release to Community Return.
|
No completed Community Return
|
|
Mountjoy (M)
|
107
|
8
|
40
|
|
Mountjoy (F)
|
71
|
3
|
11
|
|
Training Unit
|
13
|
11
|
37
|
|
St Patrick’s
|
15
|
6
|
11
|
|
Cloverhill
|
17
|
0
|
0
|
|
Wheatfield
|
82
|
12
|
17
|
|
Midlands
|
41
|
8
|
32
|
|
Portlaoise
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
|
Cork
|
119
|
5
|
21
|
|
Limerick (M)
|
47
|
7
|
26
|
|
Limerick (F)
|
24
|
2
|
0
|
|
Castlerea
|
48
|
4
|
3
|
|
Arbour Hill
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Loughan House
|
8
|
28
|
32
|
|
Shelton Abbey
|
7
|
33
|
88
|
|
Total
|
601
|
131
|
319
|
