Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners who were given temporary release in 2008 and to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34722/09]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners who were given early release in 2008 and to date in 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34723/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 280 and 281 together.

It is not possible to provide figures regarding temporary release to the Deputy in the format requested as this would require the manual examination of records going back over a considerable time period. Such an examination 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. There is no provision for "early release" per se. I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that the number of prisoners on temporary release on 5 October 2009 was 609. This represented 13% of the overall prisoner population for this day. By contrast, the equivalent percentage of prisoners on temporary release for the years 1994 to 1997 was as follows: 1994, 22.2%; 1995, 20.2%; 1996, 17.9%; and 1997, 19.2%. 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,in administering short sentences, in addressing humanitarian issues and can be an incentive to well-behaved prisoners. It should be noted that a prisoner on temporary release is still subject to his or her sentence and may be returned to prison without any court intervention. Temporary release arrangements are an important vehicle for re-integrating an offender into the community in a planned way. It is generally accepted 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.