Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 589: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners released on early release from Cork Prison since 1 January 2009 specifying in each case the term of imprisonment imposed and the time served in prison. [12113/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The gathering of the information requested would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources. However, I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that the number of prisoners on temporary release from Cork Prison on 20 March, 2009 was 64.

The Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003, provides that the Minister may approve the temporary release of a sentenced prisoner. This discretionary instrument assists in gradually preparing suitable offenders for release and in administering short sentences, and is an incentive to well-behaved prisoners. 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. In addition, all releases are subject to conditions, which in the vast majority of cases include a requirement to report on a regular basis to the offender's Garda Station. Of course, any offender who breaches his or her conditions may be arrested and returned to prison immediately by the Gardaí.

Candidates for temporary release are identified by a number of different means which include the recommendation of the Prison Governor or the therapeutic services in the prisons. The prisoner, their family or their legal representative can also apply for consideration of such a concession. Recommendations are also made in relation to long term sentence prisoners by the Parole Board. It is very important to note that it does not necessarily follow that a prisoner will receive temporary release even if the recommendation is to that effect. The periods of temporary release granted can vary greatly from a few hours following a family bereavement to, for example, a requirement to report to the prison every 12 months in the case of a life sentence prisoner who was released into the community a considerable time ago.