Prisoners serving lengthy sentences have been denied the ability to apply for parole in recent years due to delays in passing the required regulations.
The 2019 Parole Act formalised the Irish parole system and put the Parole Board on a statutory footing. It mandates that prisoners who have served at least 12 years of a life sentence and at least eight years of a non-life sentence should be eligible to apply parole.
Since it began work in 2021, the new Board has been able to assess life-sentence prisoners for early release but has been unable to review cases of non-life sentence prisoners due to a lack of regulations, which must be drawn up by the Department of Justice.
The delay in drafting these regulations since the Parole Act became law five years ago means a large cohort of prisoners has been unable to begin the parole process.
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The delay in drafting regulations has essentially removed the right to parole for this group of prisoners at a time when justice and prison officials are scrambling for ways to ease overcrowding in the country’s jails, which are at 110 per cent capacity.
The exact number of prisoners who fall into the category is unclear. Under the old system, about 50 prisoners a year who were serving determinate sentences of more than eight years applied for parole.
In response to queries, a spokeswoman for the Parole Board said its understanding is that this prisoner cohort is unable to apply for parole pending the drafting of regulations.
She said the board is not aware of the timeline for the completion of these regulations but that the board’s chief executive, Ciairín de Buis, sits on the Department of Justice’s Parole Working Group, which is examining the matter.
A Department of Justice spokesman said “policy work” in this area is at an early stage. He noted that the 2019 Act states that prisoners serving at least eight years may apply for parole but the Minister is free to set a higher minimum threshold.
Dr Ian Marder, assistant professor in criminology at Maynooth University, said access to parole for people with long-term determinate sentences “must be reintroduced as soon as possible”.
“Right now, these people are cut off from the parole process, which can only be accessed by people with life sentences. This means that large numbers of people missed out on important recommendations and support that can help them plan their activities for the rest of their time in prison.”
Both the Parole Board and the Department of Justice said they didnot know how many people will become eligible for parole once the regulations are finally completed, as that will depend on the minimum threshold decided upon.
The Parole Board said it “does not currently have the resources for any increase in applications”.
One source said they expect the work of the board to increase three-fold once the regulations are completed.
Currently, those sentenced to life in prison can make their first application for parole after 12 years, up from seven years under the pre-2019 system.
The 12-year mark is considered to be the start of the parole process and very few, if any, prisoners are expected to be released at that point.
There are about 370 life-sentence prisoners in custody. In 2022, the most recent year for which figures are available, there were 22 new applications for parole from life sentence prisoners. Two prisoners were granted parole.
The 15-member board considers various factors in granting or denying parole, including a prisoner’s efforts to rehabilitate, submissions from victims or their families and the potential risk to the community.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said it remains concerned about the delay in drafting the regulations and strongly urged the Department to “expedite this process”.
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