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Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has been accused of “dodging responsibility” for refusing to answer questions on the number of serious offenders released early from prison due to overcrowding.
He told the Social Democrats’ justice spokesman Gary Gannon that answering the question would “require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of resources” that “could not be justified”.
Mr Gannon told the Irish Mirror that people have a right to know when people are being released.
In a parliamentary question, Mr Gannon asked Minister O’Callaghan to confirm every instance since January 2024 where a serious offender was granted bail or released early due to prison or detention centre overcrowding, the nature of the offence, and the alternative arrangements that were made for public safety.
He also questioned whether public safety assessments that had been made when individuals accused of involvement in organised crime were released due to overcrowding.
Minister O’Callaghan stated that “where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured Temporary Release”.
He said: “Short-term measures like inter-prison transfers and temporary release are used in prison systems across the world to manage prison populations and have long been a feature of the Irish Prison Service activities.
“I can assure the Deputy that decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case-by-case basis.
“The safety of the public is paramount in those decisions, taking into account factors such as the gravity of the offence committed and the sentence received, offending history, behaviour while in prison, engagement in rehabilitative activities and risk of reoffending.”
However, he then stated that he could not confirm the number of serious offenders who had been released due to overcrowding.
Mr O’Callaghan continued: “My officials have advised that to provide these [figures] would require a manual examination of a considerable amount of records. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of resources, which I regret could not be justified.”
Deputy Gannon told the Irish Mirror that it is “not good enough” that Minister O’Callaghan would not provide the figures.
He said: “Jim O’Callaghan is the Minister for Justice. That means he answers to the public, not just the Department. I asked a straight question about how many prisoners are being released early. He refused to answer it.
“That’s not good enough. These are decisions made by the State with serious consequences for victims, communities and public trust in our justice system.
“People have a right to know how and why those decisions are being made. If there’s a legal reason he can’t release the figures, then say what it is and show us the basis. But don’t fob us off with a non-answer. The job of a Minister isn’t to dodge accountability. It’s to face up to it.”
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