LAST YEAR A total of 91 cases were reviewed by the Parole Board for early release.
Out of these, 86 were recommended forward for parole to Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, who accepted 82.
The other four were accepted conditionally.
The parole system in Ireland is in place to handle the early release of prisoners serving long-term jail sentences, who become eligible after serving at least half of their term.
The board’s total workload was 339 cases, the majority of which were carried over from previous years, with only 73 new cases.
What were people released for?
Generally prisoners who have served more than 10 years will have their parole reviewed every three years.
In 2014, a total of 36 prisoners were invited forward to apply for parole (the others applied for the process themselves).
Of these, the largest number were those that had committed murder offences – accounting for 17, or 47%, of the total.
19% of prisoners invited to apply for parole committed sex offences, 11% committed burglary and 8% committed robbery or larceny.
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Meetings
This year the Parole Board has been working to try and encourage more prisoners to participate in the process, meeting with smaller groups in prisons around the country to explain the steps involved.
These meetings took place in 2014 and have been ongoing this year.
Speaking about the new report today, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said: “The Parole Board plays a vital role which is much valued and appreciated. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the work of the Board in helping to encourage all eligible prisoners to participate in the parole process.”
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