Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My comments are on the same theme. My two amendments are similar to Deputy Daly's amendment but are worded differently. The conditions attached should be reasonable and proportionate. A breach in a parole order should not automatically mean a return to prison. All relevant circumstances should be taken into consideration, including prior behaviour on licence. A recall to prison can disrupt positive factors, which have been known to protect against reoffending, such as stable accommodation, employment, family relationships, contact with community health care and so on. Therefore, a decision to recall a person to prison should be proportionate to the seriousness of conditions breached.

The intention must be to try to keep the individual out of prison if at all possible and that he or she would be only thrown back into it if there was no choice. Proportionality is paramount.