The number of prisoners being released early has risen sharply since eligibility requirements were relaxed last year in the face of near-record overcrowding.
However, despite an almost 60 per cent increase in the number of prisoners being granted temporary release since the rule change 18 months ago, the overcrowding crisis has continued to worsen.
The prison population now regularly exceeds 5,000. On Tuesday, when there were 4,963 people in custody, prisons were at 110 per cent capacity.
Prison officials now regularly use various forms of temporary or early release to ease overcrowding.
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The Irish Times has learned the rules for the granting of this release were loosened in March 2023 following a submission to Minister for Justice Helen McEntee from the Irish Prison Service (IPS) which recommended various measures to alleviate overcrowding.
At the time, between 253 and 314 prisoners were on temporary release at any one time. As of June 2024, the average number of prisoners on temporary release was 500, an increase of 59 per cent.
Under authority delegated from Ms McEntee, IPS director general Caron McCaffrey made several key changes to the eligibility rules for temporary release.
Despite its name, temporary release can take several forms including permanent early release as long as prisoners are of good behaviour and time-limited release to allow prisoners take up employment or prepare for the end of their sentences.
Under the new rules prisoners serving sentences of less than one year, or who have one year left in their term, can now apply for general temporary release pending a risk assessment.
Additionally, the community return scheme, which grants early release subject to prisoners carrying out unpaid work in the community, is now available to inmates serving up to five years once they have completed at least half of their sentence. It was previously only available for prisoners serving between one and three years.
Significant changes were also made to the community support scheme, which is specifically designed to relieve overcrowding by granting early release to inmates serving short sentences. These prisoners are then supervised in the community.
Previously, only prisoners serving less than a year could apply. Now it is open to those serving up to 18 months.
The numbers released under this scheme since the changes have more than doubled, from around 50 in early 2023 to 109 today.
In response to queries, an IPS spokesman said “when the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the IPS makes every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured temporary release”.
Each application for release is “considered on its individual merits and the safety of the public is paramount when decisions are made”, he said.
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.
The rapid increase in prison numbers has left officials scrambling to find additional places through cell audits and the refurbishment of existing buildings. The IPS is also considering using the military prison in the Curragh camp for civilian prisoners.
The IPS said 200 new prison beds have come online in recent years and that there are plans for another 1,100 by 2030.
In a pre-budget submission last year, it warned overcrowding is likely to get worse and will lead to increased tensions and a more dangerous environment for staff and prisoners.
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