Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

529. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to introduce regulations to allow for persons serving determinate sentences to become eligible for parole review by the Parole Board as per section 24(3) of the Parole Act 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7420/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy may be aware, the Parole Board was established as a statutory body under the Parole Act 2019 on 31 July 2021, replacing the former Interim Board which had been in place since 2001.

At present, the provisions of the Parole Act 2019 apply to those serving a sentence of imprisonment for life. To date, no regulations have been made pursuant to s. 24(3) of the Parole Act 2019 to provide for the eligibility of those serving a sentence of eight years or more. Such people are currently being managed on an administrative basis by the Irish Prison Service.

In making regulations under Section 24(3), the Minister is required to consider the desirability of equality of treatment with regard to eligibility for consideration for parole of people serving different types of sentences, the objective of incentivising people serving sentences to be rehabilitated, and the availability of other forms of early release.

The Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 (approved by Government at the end of August 2022) contains a commitment (Action 15) to examine, post-implementation of the Parole Act 2019, the policy base to allow for the introduction of the Regulations necessary to determine eligibility for parole, including for those serving long-term fixed sentences, under the new Statutory Parole Board.

As the Statutory Parole Board was only recently established, there are no plans to prescribe such regulations at present. I can inform the Deputy that officials in the Department will however, continue to keep this matter under review and will consult with the Parole Board in due course about any proposed regulations to be made under Section 24(3).