Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 34:

In page 16, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:“Eligibility for Parole

24. (1) Subject to this section and section 5(2), the following persons shall be eligible for parole:

(a) a person serving a sentence of imprisonment for life who has served at least 12 years of that sentence;

(b) a person serving a sentence of imprisonment of a term equivalent to or longer than such term as is prescribed in regulations made by the Minister under subsection (3), who has served at least such portion of the sentence as may be prescribed by the Minister in accordance with that subsection.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply to a person regardless of whether the sentence of imprisonment being served by the person was imposed prior to or after the commencement of this section.

(3) The Minister may, for the purposes of subsection (1)(b), following consultation with the Board, by regulations prescribe—

(a) a term of imprisonment of not less than 8 years, and

(b) the portion of such a term to be served by a person prior to becoming eligible for parole.

(4) In making regulations under subsection (3), the Minister shall have regard to—

(a) the objective of ensuring that there is an incentive for persons serving sentences of imprisonment to be rehabilitated,

(b) the availability to persons serving sentences of imprisonment of such a term of other forms of early release from prison and the extent to which the objective referred to in paragraph (a) is achieved by such other forms of early release,

(c) the desirability of the early release from prison of a person being decided upon by an independent body,

(d) the desirability of equality of treatment with regard to eligibility for consideration for parole, insofar as is possible, between persons serving sentences of imprisonment for life and persons serving sentences of imprisonment for a determinate term, and between persons serving sentences of imprisonment for determinate terms of differing lengths, and

(e) the capacity of the Board to consider an increased number of applications for parole.

(5) Where a person has made an application for parole and the application has been refused by the Board under section 30, the person shall not be eligible again for parole prior to the date specified in the decision of the Board pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of that section.

(6) Where a parole order relating to a person has been revoked under section 33, the person shall not be eligible again for parole prior to the date specified in the decision of the Board pursuant to subsection (5)(b)(iii) of that section.

(7) A person who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment and has been transferred to a designated centre pursuant to section 15 of the Act of 2006 shall not be eligible for parole while he or she is detained in the designated centre.

(8) Where a person has been sentenced to two or more terms of imprisonment to be served concurrently, the eligibility of the person for parole shall be determined by reference to the longest sentence being served by the person.

(9) Where a person has been sentenced to two or more terms of imprisonment, each of determinate length, to be served consecutively, the eligibility of the person for parole shall be determined by reference to the cumulative length of the terms of imprisonment.

(10) Where a person has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life and one or more terms of imprisonment of determinate length to be served consecutively with the

term of imprisonment for life, the person shall be eligible for parole when he or she has served 12 years of the sentence of imprisonment for life.

(11) Where a person is serving a minimum term of imprisonment within the meaning of section 27C of the Firearms Act 1964, he or she shall not be eligible for parole before the expiry of such minimum term.

(12) Where a person is serving a sentence of imprisonment under section 27(3A) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, in respect of which the court specified a minimum term of imprisonment to be served by the person pursuant to subsection (3C) or (3F) of that section, he or she shall not be eligible for parole before the expiry of such minimum term.

(13) Where a person is serving a term of imprisonment for an offence to which section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1990 applies, he or she shall not be eligible for parole before the expiry of a minimum period of imprisonment to be served by the person specified under section 4 of that Act.

(14) Where a person is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed in accordance with section 25(1) of the Criminal Justice 2007 in respect of a subsequent offence within the meaning of that section, he or she shall not be eligible for parole before the expiry of the minimum term of imprisonment specified by the court in accordance with that subsection.

(15) Where a person is serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed in accordance with section 58(1) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 in respect of a subsequent offence within the meaning of that section, he or she shall not be eligible for parole before the expiry of the minimum term of imprisonment specified by the court in accordance with that subsection.”.

These amendments deal with eligibility for parole and how an application is made. Members will see that Part 3 of the Bill deals with the parole process. Due to the Bill's move away from the distinction between reviews and hearings, as well as for drafting reasons, it was necessary to replace this Part in its entirety. However, I am keen to ensure that I have retained the essence of what Deputy O'Callaghan intended in bringing forward this Bill.

Amendment No. 34 inserts a new section relating to eligibility for parole. The Bill in its current form increases the length of time which must be served by a life sentence prisoner before being considered for parole. Members will be aware that prisoners serving a life sentence currently become eligible after they have served seven years. Under this Bill, that increases to 12 years and the amendments I am proposing will not affect that. I hope that increase will go some way towards limiting the ongoing trauma, distress and upset victims currently experience when they are notified that a prisoner is to be considered for parole seven years into his or her sentence. Eligibility to be considered by the new Parole Board will be limited initially to those serving life sentences, although the Minister will eventually be able to extend it to other prisoners serving long sentences through regulation. Parole is particularly relevant for life sentence prisoners because of the need, recognised by the European Court of Human Rights, to ensure prisoners are not detained indefinitely without any prospect of revisiting or review.

This amendment also states that prisoners who are serving mandatory minimum sentences are not eligible until the minimum period has been served. It sets out how eligibility is to be decided when a prisoner is serving a concurrent or consecutive sentences.

Amendment No. 35 provides that the Irish Prison Service will notify the board of who is eligible for parole and also if a person becomes ineligible, for example, if they are convicted of another offence.

Amendment No. 36 deals with the application process for parole. The board will notify the prisoner six months before he becomes eligible. The prisoner writes to the board to confirm that they wish to apply for parole.

I oppose amendment No. 50, assuming Deputy Connolly moves it. The process for applying for parole is dealt with in the new section 26. I invite the Deputy to accept these issues are dealt with in the new section but I agree that prisoners should be notified by the board when they are eligible for parole. This is the current practice. If we consider the new section 26, this is provided for in subsection (1). My contention is that the import of Opposition amendment No. 50 in the name of Deputy Connolly has in effect been provided for.

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