Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of prisoners held here and the number of prisoners on temporary release at the latest date for which figures are available; if he will give the equivalent figures for the same date in each year from 2002; the average number of prisoners on temporary release for each month of 2010; the steps being taken to deal with overcrowding and to reduce the number of prisoners receiving temporary release; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42997/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, there has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population in Ireland over recent years, with dramatic increases in the number of sentenced prisoners, those being committed on remand and a trend towards longer sentences. This situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months during which time the total number in custody has increased by 435. This represents a rise of over 11% in the numbers in custody. The Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals.

I wish to inform the Deputy that the total number of prisoners in custody on 15 November 2010 was 4,416. The number of prisoners on temporary release on that day was 660 which represented approximately 12.5% of the overall prison population. The figures requested by the Deputy in relation to temporary release are set out in the tables.

The number of prisoners on temporary release in each year from 2002

The average number of prisoners on temporary release for each

month of 2010;

The Irish Prison Service has been engaged in an extensive programme of investment in prisons infrastructure which has involved both the modernisation of the existing estate, the provision of extra prison spaces, and the improvement of the prisons regime. Since 1997, in excess of 1,930 new prison spaces have come on stream in the prison system. These include the new prisons in Castlerea, the Midlands, Cloverhill, the Dóchas Centre and new accommodation in Limerick, Portlaoise, Castlerea, Mountjoy and Wheatfield prisons and at the open centres in Shelton Abbey and Loughan House. The Irish Prison Service has also completed the renovation of an unused landing in Limerick Female Prison which has provided an extra 14 cells with in-cell sanitation.

The Irish Prison Service plans to commence construction later this year on a new accommodation block in the Portlaoise/Midlands prisons complex which will provide 300 prison spaces in the medium term. Work is also due to commence on converting an administrative building on the Dóchas site into a new accommodation block which will provide 70 spaces in the short term.

The Government is fully committed to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin, and recently approved the procurement of the first phase of the prison accommodation blocks and related support facilities. This work will result in the provision of an initial 400 cells capable of accommodating up to 700 prisoners. Work has already started on the construction of the access road and the procurement process for other aspects of the project are being advanced. The development of a new prisons facility at Kilworth, Co Cork, to serve the Munster region is also a key element of the prisons modernisation programme.

Temporary release arrangements, in accordance with the Criminal Justice Act 1960 as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003, can operate similar 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.

The Irish Prison Service has also judiciously used temporary release as a means of reducing numbers in times of serious overcrowding. 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.