Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Yesterday, I requested that the Minister come to the House to answer questions on the Irish Prison Service. I have read in a newspaper a statement from the Prison Officers Association that more than 600 prisoners are on the run. They have absconded from open prisons, failed to return from temporary release, left hospitals, left their escorts or escaped in a number of other ways. Is this true? If so it adds a worrying dimension to the situation.