merrion street

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, T.D., announced today that 160 prisoners will be granted varying periods of temporary release this Christmas under the Criminal Justice Act 1960. This figure represents approximately 3% of the overall prisoner population. The corresponding numbers released for Christmas in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were 138, 107, 176 and 134 respectively.

Of the prisoners being released this year, over 60% are prisoners serving their sentences in our lower security institutions: the Training Unit Semi Open Prison; Loughan House and Shelton Abbey Open Centres.

The prisoners being released are nearing the end of their sentences and the overriding concern when considering the applications is the safety of the public. In addition to compassionate and humane considerations, other criteria taken into account include the nature and gravity of the offence, length of sentence served to date, prior record on temporary release, behaviour while in custody and previous criminal history.

The periods of release vary from a few hours (in some cases accompanied by another responsible person) up to 7 nights. All releases are subject to stringent conditions, which in the vast majority of cases includes a requirement to report to his/her local Garda station. Any offender who breaks these conditions may be arrested and returned immediately to prison by the Gardaí.