Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The provision, as currently framed, allows the Minister to direct the temporary release of a prisoner having regard to the purpose of such release and the considerations the Minister must take into account before deciding whether to grant temporary release. The Senator is seeking a written direction but it is always open to a Minister to make a decision orally and provision has been made in a separate amendment to have any such oral direction recorded to writing. It is not intended to change section 4 of the 1960 Act which provides that where the release of a person is made subject to conditions, these shall be communicated to the person at the time of his release by a notice in writing. A notice in writing is sent to the person released informing them of any conditions.

While the Minister's direction may also include conditions, both standard and specific to the prisoner in question, the written conditions referred to in section 4 will be included in the notice for temporary release given to the prisoner by the governor or the Prison Service. Such a written notice would always be given to a prisoner when granted temporary release, regardless of the circumstances or urgency of the case.

However, some flexibility must always be maintained in the administration of the scheme. To specifically provide that such directions can only be in writing could be extremely inflexible in an emergency. For example, the Minister could be attending a meeting in Brussels. There are many such meetings in the evolution of the justice pillar and an urgent circumstance might arise where a decision would have to be communicated orally by the Minister. While the importance of written directions in this area cannot be overstated, it is important to be realistic in relation to catering for unexpected events that can occur.

A similar amendment was proposed in the Dáil and in order to deal with concerns on this issue, an amendment was made to section 1(5) to provide that the governor shall make and keep a record in writing of the direction given to the prisoner. This ensures that a record is always kept but allows the flexibility required, especially at weekends or late in the evening. The practice for a prisoner in all circumstances to receive a notice in advance of his or her temporary release setting out the period of temporary release and the conditions which apply to that period will not change and the provisions for this will be contained in rules which we have made in accordance with the amendment. I do not propose to accept the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.