Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The parole board reviews the cases of those prisoners serving long terms of imprisonment who are eligible for parole and who apply to be considered and then provides advice and recommendations to the Minister on those cases. The board has done an excellent job in making recommendations to the Minister of the day.

On several occasions, the issue has been raised as to whether decisions on the release of prisoners, particularly those with a sentence of life imprisonment, should be made by the Minister or by another body. This issue was considered by the High Court only this year in a case where two prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment challenged, among other issues, the role of the Minister in the process, arguing that the decision on their release was a judicial function not appropriate to the Executive and that the involvement of the Minister was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court rejected both arguments and upheld the existing system.

There are no immediate plans to introduce legislation dealing with the parole board, but the matter will be kept under review.

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