Fraudsters and thieves among prisoners most likely to get temporary release, figures show

Ken Foxe

Fraudsters, drug dealers and thieves are among the prisoners most likely to be granted temporary release from Irish jails.

An analysis of Irish Prison Service data shows that nearly a quarter of criminals getting early release are serving sentences for controlled drug offences.

The figures show that on the first day of August, a total of 612 people were temporarily free as the prison system grappled with record-breaking levels of overcrowding.

Of those on release that day, 149 were in jail for drug crimes while 138 were serving sentences for theft or related offences.

There were 51 individuals on temporary release who were guilty of attempts or threats to murder, assault, or harassment.
25 of the total were convicted of dangerous or negligent acts, and 44 of fraud, deception, and related offences.

There were also four sex offenders given temporary release (TR).

However, the Irish Prison Service said this was an administrative measure to allow the prisoners access to social support services on a weekday rather than releasing them at the weekend.

A spokesman said in the cases concerned, the inmates only had a day or two taken from their sentences and that this was to support their rehabilitation.

Other prisoners on TR included 10 convicted of weapons and explosives offences and 14 serving sentences for robbery, extortion, or hijacking offences.

Women in the prison system were far more likely to be given temporary release, according to the Irish Prison Service data.

On 1 August, 142 of the 612 total, or nearly a quarter of the number on TR, were female.

This was despite the fact that only around 7 percent of people in the prison system on that date were women.

Of the 600-plus people who were freed, around 40 percent of them were serving short sentences of less than a year.

There were 26 who had been given less than three months in jail, 95 on three-to-six-month sentences, and 119 doing terms of between six and twelve months.

The figures also show that 38 were long-serving inmates with sentences of between five and ten years.

This included individuals convicted of attempts or threats to kill, drug offences, and fraud or deception.

Mountjoy Prison in Dublin was the source of the highest number of prisoners on TR, according to the data.

On August 1, there were 178 men released from the male prison, with a further 103 from the adjoining Dóchas women’s centre.

The figures show 57 were let free from Cork Prison and a further 55 from Limerick Prison.

There were also 39 women on temporary release from the female prison at Limerick.

A single prisoner was on TR from high-security Portlaoise Prison along with two from the jail at Arbour Hill in Dublin.

A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said: “Each application [for temporary release] is considered on its individual merits and the safety of the public is paramount when decisions are made.

“All temporary releases are subject to conditions and any offender who breaches his or her conditions may be arrested and returned to prison immediately by the gardaí or may be refused another period of temporary release.”