James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 68:

In page 45, after line 38, to insert the following:

“Amendment of Parole Act 2019

58.The Parole Act 2019 is amended— (a) in section 2—

(i) in subsection (1), in the definition of “relevant governor”—

(I) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “so released,” for “so released, or”, and

(II) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) where the parole applicant or parolee, as the case may be, is on conditional release from prison in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960, the governor of the prison from which he or she is so released, or”,

and

(ii) in subsection (3)—

(I) in paragraph (a)—

(A) by the substitution of “including” for “including both”,

(B) in subparagraph (i), by the substitution of “Act of 2001,” for “Act of 2001, and”,

(C) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “Act of 1960, and” for “Act of 1960,” and

(D) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (ii):

“(iii) a person who is released from prison on conditional release in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960,”,

and

(II) in paragraph (b)—

(A) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “imprisonment,” for “imprisonment, and”,

(B) in subparagraph (iii), by the substitution of “that Act, and” for “that Act,” and

(C) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iii):

“(iv) any time spent on conditional release from prison for a period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960 while serving the sentence of imprisonment other than time spent on such release where the currency of the sentence of the person is suspended pursuant to section 5 of that Act,”,

(b) in section 6, by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (a):

“(aa) the power of the Minister to give a direction that a person be released from prison for a period under section 2A of the Act of 1960,”,

and

(c) in section 27—

(i) in subsection (2)—

(I) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) without prejudice to paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) to (m), in the case of a foreign sentence—

(i) any restriction, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, for the whole term of the sentence regarding the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole),

(ii) any condition, notified in writing to the Minister by the state in which the sentence was imposed, that means the eligibility of the sentenced person to early or conditional release (including parole) was conditional on his or her having served a specified term of imprisonment where the condition was as a result of—

(I) a decision or order by the court or tribunal that imposed the sentence,

(II) the operation of law of the state in which the sentence was imposed, or

(III) a decision of a body in the state in which the sentence was imposed, other than a body referred to in clause (I), on whom a power to make such a decision has been conferred by law,”,

and

(II) in paragraph (e)(iii), by the insertion of “or 2A” after “section 2”,

and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b), a reference in that subsection to any recommendation of the court that imposed the sentence shall, in the case of a foreign sentence, be construed as a reference to any recommendation of the court or tribunal in the state that imposed the sentence.

(5) In this section, ‘foreign sentence’, means—

(a) a sentence of imprisonment for life, or

(b) a sentence of imprisonment of a term equivalent to or longer than such term as may be prescribed in regulations made by the Minister under section 24(3),

that is imposed by a court or tribunal in a state, other than the State, the enforcement of which has been transferred to the State and thereafter continued in accordance with a committal order within the meaning of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act 1995, the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005 or Part 3 of the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Act 2023, as the case may be.”.”.

The amendments to the Parole Act 2019 are the final piece in addressing the treatment of early and conditional release measures. Deputies will be aware that eligibility for parole in Ireland arises for life sentence prisoners who have served 12 years and that, on average, a person serves approximately 20 years in custody before being released. Ireland does not have a court-determined tariff system, a minimum custodial period determined on a case-by-case basis, and it is not possible to transfer in such a tariff as a binding measure. Therefore, the approach being taken is to extend the existing provision in the Act that requires the Parole Board to have regard to any recommendation of the court imposing sentence. The board will now be required to have regard to any conditions or restrictions applicable to the life sentence that would have affected a person's eligibility for parole had the transfer not occurred. The provisions of the sentencing state shall not prejudice the eligibility of the person for parole, persons shall not become eligible for parole at an earlier point than they would have in respect of an Irish sentence, and persons shall continue to be eligible for parole notwithstanding that they would not have been eligible in the other state. No presumption of a grant of parole at the point of release in the sentencing state shall apply in respect of a life sentence.

Further amendments are made to the Act with regard to its interaction with the conditional release mechanism under section 2A of the Criminal Justice Act 1960. These are included for completeness should, at some future point, the application of the Act be extended to determinate sentences.

I note that a review into the introduction of a tariff system for domestic sentences is under way. These provisions will be reviewed in light of developments in this area.

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