Ms Caron McCaffrey:

To ensure that we are in a good position to deal with demands that can go up and down, we are looking at capacity across the estate currently. We are conducting an audit of all our accommodation to see what additional capacity might be available to us within the estate. We also have some accommodation that is not in use currently. The training unit is a prison located on the Mountjoy Prison campus site. It has been out of operation for the past 18 months.

We will bring it back into operation and it will give us 100 spaces. The progression unit, formerly St. Patrick's Institution, also on the Mountjoy Prison campus will give us 50 additional spaces. I am confident, therefore, that for the foreseeable future there will be additional capacity in the system which will allow us to manage our numbers.

On temporary release, we have moved from what the Deputy described as a revolving door to where anyone on temporary release is part of a structured programme. The Secretary General mentioned two programmes that we run in co-operation with the probation service. The community return scheme is for prisoners who are serving sentences between one and eight years, swap some of their prison time for time spent doing community service. They are contributing greatly to their communities in the projects they undertake. The community support scheme is for prisoners who are serving between three and 12 months who can be released with supports in place. They could be supports to deal with addiction or mental health issues in order that they will not fall into a pattern of reoffending.

The numbers on temporary release have reduced significantly. As of today, only 160 are on temporary release, which is in sharp contrast to-----