Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 576: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the eligibility criteria for greater remission of up to one third of a sentence; the number of applications to date; the number that have been granted such greater remission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15308/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Section 59 (2) of the Prison Rules, 2007 allows for the discretionary granting of additional remission, up to one third as opposed to the standard rate of one quarter, where a prisoner has shown further good conduct through his engagement in authorised structured activity and where, as a result, the prisoner is less likely to re-offend and will be better able to reintegrate into the community.

I can at the outset advise the Deputy that this additional concession will only be awarded in exceptional cases and where I am satisfied beyond any doubt that the prisoner concerned has demonstrated that she/he meets the requirements as set out in the Prison Rules. Perhaps I should also point to the fact that despite this additional opportunity to earn additional remission our remission rates are significantly below those currently operating in the UK and Northern Ireland where rates of 50% are in place.

While there are a number of applications for extra remission under consideration at present, to date one prisoner has been granted this concession. It is not possible to provide the number of applications as each case is dealt with on an individual basis and this would require the manual examination of records going back over a considerable time period. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.