Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 527: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners on parole, day release or other form of release in the past 12 months on a monthly basis; the number of such persons who were guilty of serious crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9245/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The statistics as requested by the Deputy are set out in the table below.

Figures from 15 January , 2008 indicate that there were 3,518 persons in the prison system, of whom 186 (5.28%) were on temporary release. This compares with a figure of 2,723 persons in the prison system on 20 May, 1996 of whom 536 (almost 20%) were on temporary release.

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the reason for the significant fall in the percentage of prisoners on temporary release between 1996 and 2008 is because this Government has provided some 1,200 additional prison spaces since 1997. Having said that there will always be a small percentage of prisoners on temporary release at any given time.

Temporary release arrangements operate similarly to a system of parole, which is a feature of prison systems worldwide. They are an important vehicle for reintegrating an offender into the community in a planned way. The generally accepted view is that the risk to the community would be reduced by planned reintegration of offenders compared with their return to the community on the completion of their full sentence. Each case is examined on its own merits and the safety of the public is paramount when decisions are made on temporary release applications.

Prisoners are considered for temporary release in various circumstances, for example, release under the direct supervision of the Probation Service; to employment or training programmes; on compassionate release because of ill health or family related circumstances; or for reintegration purposes because they are nearing the end of their sentence.

In relation to the Deputy's request for details of the nature of the offence in respect of each person on temporary release, the compilation of such statistics would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and expense to prepare and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources. However, as already stated, the safety of the public is paramount when decisions are made on temporary release applications.