Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the categories of prisoner currently excluded from applying for temporary release. [9918/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the legislation governing the powers of the Minister to grant temporary release is provided for in section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1960 as substituted by section 1 of the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003 and as amended by section 110 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, which grants the Minister for Justice the power to make rules for the temporary release of persons serving a sentence of imprisonment, which has been done under the Prisoners (Temporary Release) Rules 2004 (S.I. No. 680 of 2004).

Temporary Release powers conferred on the Minister are significantly curtailed for certain offences subject to minimum mandatory sentences and indefinite contempt of court. As such, the Minister does not have the legislative authority to grant temporary release for re-socialisation/reintegration, rehabilitative purposes in those cases, either directly or by delegated authority. In such case, the only applications for temporary release that can be considered by the Minister are those for the grave reason of a humanitarian nature, and any release so granted shall be only of such limited duration as is justified by that reason.