Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

A total of 176 prisoners were granted varying periods of temporary release at Christmas 2009 under the Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003. This figure represents approximately 4% of the prisoner population at that time.

The periods of release granted to these prisoners varied from a few hours up to seven nights. The overriding concern when considering the applications was the safety of the public. While the obvious additional factors taken into account when considering temporary release at Christmas are compassionate and humane considerations, before any determination on the granting of temporary release to a prisoner is made a number of factors have to be taken into account. These include the nature and gravity of the offence to which the sentence being served by the prisoner relate; the period of the sentence served by the prisoner and period left to serve; the potential threat to the safety and security of the public should the prisoner be released; the prisoner's previous criminal record; the risk of the prisoner failing to return to the prison at the expiration of the period of temporary release; any reports or recommendation made by the governor, the Garda Síochána, a probation officer, or any other person who may be of assistance in coming to a decision as to whether to grant temporary release; the risk that the prisoner might commit an offence during any period of temporary release; the risk of the prisoner failing to comply with the conditions of temporary release; and the likelihood that a period of temporary release might assist the prisoner's eventual full release and their reintegration into society or improve his or her prospects of obtaining employment.

As of 1 February 2010, four prisoners out of the 176 prisoners released at Christmas have failed to return to custody. Experience has shown that it is likely that these offenders will shortly be returned to custody by the Garda Síochána to complete their sentences.

The Prison Service utilises temporary release as part of its programme of sentence management. Temporary release is used to facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners into society. Rather than releasing prisoners straight into the community at the end of their sentence, it is in everyone's interest that prisoners who do not pose a high risk to the public are reintroduced into society in a planned and structured way. The generally accepted view is that the risk to the community would be reduced by planned re-integration of offenders compared to their return to the community on the completion of their full sentence.

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