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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 16 Dec 2003

Vol. 577 No. 3

Written Answers. - Prisoner Releases.

Ciarán Cuffe

Ceist:

506 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will still have discretion in implementing sentence review group and interim parole board recommendations in high profile cases; and his views on whether this contradicts the European Convention of Human Rights requirement that parole board recommendations be implemented in full by him. [30714/03]

The interim parole board, which replaced the sentence review group, was established on an administrative basis in April 2001. The board's principal function is to advise me in on the administration of long-term prison sentences.

The interim parole board reviews the cases of prisoners sentenced to determinate sentences of eight years or more. Prisoners serving sentences for certain offences, such as the murder of a member of the Garda Síochána or the Prison Service in the course of their duty, are excluded from the process. The board, by way of recommendation to me, advises of the prisoner's progress to date, the degree to which the prisoner has engaged with the various therapeutic services and how best to proceed with the future administration of the sentence. I consider in full all recommendations put before me by the interim parole board before making the final decision regarding sentence management.
Previous judgments in the Irish courts have found that the management of prison sentences is a matter for the Executive and under current legislation I, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, am entrusted with the power to grant temporary release to a sentenced prisoner. As the Deputy is probably aware, new legislation in the form of the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003 has been enacted and will commence in the near future when the text of the associated rules has been finalised. The Act will provide a clearer legislative basis for the power to grant temporary release by setting down the principles which will apply to the exercise of this power and will provide a clear and transparent basis, as well as the necessary safeguards required, for the operation of the system of temporary release. The power of release will be retained by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the Act.
I am not aware of a particular requirement in the European Convention of Human Rights that parole board recommendations be implemented in full by me, as stated by the Deputy. I am also not clear what precisely the Deputy means by "high profile" cases. However, I am aware that there have been a number of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights against the United Kingdom on the issue of parole for long-term prisoners. However, it should be noted that the system as operated in the United Kingdom is significantly different from that which operates in this jurisdiction, involving in particular the application of tariffs to life sentences, which I understand was a central factor in the judgments concerned.
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