Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the basis on which temporary Christmas releases from prison are granted; the conditions attaching to such releases; the action taken against prisoners persistently re-offending while on temporary release; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2993/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that 107 prisoners were granted varying periods of temporary release at Christmas 2008 under the Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003. This figure represents approximately 2% of the prisoner population at that time and was a significant reduction on Christmas 2007 figures of 138 prisoners.

The periods of release that these prisoners were granted varied from a few hours up to 7 nights. The prisoners released were nearing the end of their sentences and the overriding concern when considering the applications was the safety of the public. In addition to compassionate and humane considerations, the nature and gravity of the offence, length of sentence served to date, prior record on temporary release, behaviour while in custody and previous criminal history were also considered.

Temporary release arrangements operate similarly to a system of parole, which is a feature of prison systems worldwide. They are an important vehicle for re-integrating an offender into the community in a planned way. The generally accepted view is that the risk to the community is reduced by planned re-integration 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.

All releases are subject to stringent conditions which may include, for example, to reside at a particular address, to return to the prison at a set time, that a family member or responsible person collect and return the prisoner. In the vast majority of cases there would be a requirement to report on a regular basis to the offender's Garda Station and in that regard the Garda authorities regularly circulate details of persons who have recently been released from custody. Any offender who breaches his or her temporary release conditions may be arrested and returned to prison immediately by the Gardaí.