Vol. 541 No. 2
115 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he will take arising from the report from the former Secretary of Roinn na Gaeltachta (details supplied) into the review of the circumstances of the release of a prisoner from County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22026/01]
The report to which the Deputy refers was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 6 July 2001. The report is extensive in dealing with the review of the management of the sentences of a life sentenced prisoner who committed a murder while on temporary release from Castlerea Prison. It illustrates some weaknesses in the system and it makes recommendations to deal with them. I have asked the Director General of the Irish Prisons Service to implement all the recommendations of the report and to take whatever other steps are necessary to improve procedures and risk assessment. The Director General has assured me the Prisons Service has now introduced procedural changes to comply with the requirements of the reports recommendations.
For my part, I have established a new Parole Board on an administrative basis and it is my intention to put it on a statutory basis in due course. The board will have, among other things, the task of advising me in regard to releases of the kind which is the subject of the report referred to by the Deputy. The board is representative of the general public as well as the relevant professional services which are available. Once again, I wish to express regret at the tragic consequences of the release of this prisoner and extend my sympathy to the family of the victim on the death of their mother.
