Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1990. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the cause of death of all those who died in prison, on temporary release from prison and who were unlawfully at large from prison in the past ten years. [41688/25]

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

I would firstly like to express my sympathies to the family and friends of each of those individuals who have died in prison custody.

It is important to note that the Irish Prison Service only records the cause of death where the death occurred while the prisoner was within a prison.

All deaths of prisoners within prisons are notified to An Garda Síochána, who investigate where circumstances warrant, in addition to the inquest held in the Coroner's Court. The cause of death is determined by a jury on the basis of the information presented to the Coroner's Court.

All prisoner deaths, including deaths that occur within one month of temporary release are subject to an independent investigation by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons. Finalised reports and any associated Prison Service Action Plan to address recommendations contained in the report are published in an anonymised form on the Gov.ie website and made available to the Coroner.

In addition, the Irish Prison Service has a robust, internal review mechanism which assesses the circumstances of each prisoner death, highlights accountability and actions taken in relation to it, and outlines any lessons learned.

The information sought by the Deputy on cause of death for those who have died in prison in the past 10 years is provided in the table below. I would advise the Deputy that the table does not, as outlined above, contain information on deaths that occurred while the prisoner was outside the prison either on temporary release, renewable temporary release, full temporary release or unlawfully at large within the community.

Deaths in Custody 2015 to 21 July 2025 inclusive classified by cause of death as determined by Coroner

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1991. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of those who have been released early from prison who were serving a sentence for a violent crime; and the nature of the crimes of those who have been released early over the past five years. [41689/25]

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

The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available and would require a manual examination of records which would be too onerous an exercise. Additionally, the category "violent crimes" is not one by which data would typically be collated by the IPS.

I can advise the Deputy that as of the 29 July there are 587 people on Temporary Release. The Irish Prison Service publishes daily prisoner population statistics and annual reports, on www.irishprisons.ie/, which may be of assistance.