Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 February 2014
135. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners remaining untraced having absconded prior to the completion of their sentence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5717/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that since 1996 the number of prisoners recorded as having absconded or escaped from the custody of the Irish Prison Service, and who have not been returned to custody is 64. Of these 64, 60 prisoners have absconded from the Open Centres, two have escaped from a closed prison and two have escaped from the custody of prison officers outside the confines of a prison, and remain at large.
An Garda Síochána are informed when prisoners abscond and they have the power to detain, arrest, and return such persons to prison. Experience has shown that the vast majority of offenders who abscond return voluntarily or are returned to custody by An Garda Síochána to complete their sentences, usually within a short time frame.
I also wish to advise the Deputy that in October 2012, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service established a project team to examine how the Irish Prison Service might reduce the number of prisoners who are unlawfully at large from custody. The project team has worked closely with An Garda Síochána and the Department of Social Protection and its work has led to the re-committal of a number of prisoners who had absconded from custody. This project is ongoing.
