Penal reform group concerned over increased parole ineligibility for life prisoners

A penal reform group has raised concerns after the Oireachtas justice committee voted to amend the Parole Bill 2016 to raise the period of ineligibility for parole for life-sentenced prisoners from eight to 12 years.

Fíona Ní Chinnéide, acting executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), told Irish Legal News that the amendment could have a “knock-on effect” on access to services.

The amendment was moved by Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson, Jim O’Callaghan, who also introduced the Parole Bill to the Dáil.

Ms Ní Chinnéide told ILN: “While IPRT agrees with observations that this aligns more closely to realistic prospects for release, it is often the case that specific rehabilitative services only kick in when a prisoner approaches his or her first parole review - currently this can be as much as seven years after committal on sentence.

“It is essential that sentencing planning and rehabilitative work begins at the start of a life sentence, and that this amendment does not have the knock-on effect of further delaying access to services in prison.”

The primary purpose of the Parole Bill is to establish a fully independent Parole Board on a statutory basis.

Under the current system, the Parole Board, which replaced the Sentence Review Group in 2001, cannot make binding decisions and merely advises the Minister for Justice as to whether the Minister should grant temporary release to a prisoner.

The IPRT has “long campaigned for the Parole Board to be established on a statutory basis, and for release decisions to be removed from political control”, Ms Ní Chinnéide said.

She told ILN: “The Select Committee’s scrutiny of the Parole Bill 2016 was appropriately focused on public safety, assessment of risk, and rehabilitation. There was strong emphasis placed by the Tánaiste and the Committee members on the critical importance of the composition of the Parole Board, with appointments based on criteria of skills, knowledge and ability. IPRT welcomes this.”

Ms Ní Chinnéide added: “The debate also touched on potential risks of re-sentencing through the inclusion of criteria relating to the original offence in parole decision-making. IPRT believes there should be further scrutiny of this issue should tariffs be introduced in future.”