asked the Minister for Justice if, in view of the present overcrowding and his own stated belief in the damaging effects of long periods of imprisonment, he will consider raising the present level of remission to 50 per cent which would be on a par with Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers . - Prison Sentences Remission
711.
, Limerick East): I am at present considering, among other things, the pressure on accommodation in the prisons and places of detention. I am also considering alternatives to imprisonment and hope to introduce very soon the community service scheme and to extend and improve the intensive supervision scheme. Extra accommodation will shortly be available in Cork Prison and Loughan House, which will relieve the pressure for some time.
Offenders may benefit from the present system of temporary release if they are unlikely to re-offend; they are not considered a serious danger to the public and they take part in programmes aimed at preparing them for release — they are the majority. A significant number are released at the half-way stage in their sentence or even earlier. Accordingly, the case for an increase in the amount of remission for which an offender qualifies merely on the basis of his industry and good conduct while in custody is not as strong as in some other jurisdictions which do not operate as liberal a temporary release system as we do. Moreover, I have no doubt that many people would be opposed to the release of dangerous offenders after they had served only half of the sentences imposed by the Courts.