Third of prisoner deaths were while on temporary release

Nearly a third of Irish prisoners who have died over the past decade were on temporary release at the time, The Detail reports.

In an interview filmed days before his death, the late Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, linked the deaths to drug use.

Of the 129 Irish prisoners who have died since January 2007, 42 were on temporary release.

Asked about the findings, Judge Reilly said: “If you have been in prison for a considerable length of time, your tolerance for drugs, if you haven’t been getting them in the prison, is probably a lot lower than it was when you went into prison the first day.

“It may be if prisoners are released and if they go back to their old stomping grounds, and take up drug taking again, it may be that their low tolerance means that when they take that amount which they might have taken prior to going into prison, that it’s too much for them, and they might die.”

Fíona Ní Chinnéide, acting executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), added: “One death in the care of the state is one too many, and a death in prison is traumatic to staff and other prisoners, along with the prisoner’s family and friends.

“There should be supports in place for families, prison staff and other prisoners affected by the death, and greater awareness among media of the impact of news reports on grieving families who have lost their family member.”

The Irish Prison Service said it was developing new policy to “provide standard practice for pre-release planning across the Irish Prison Service estate and to ensure the informed and effective transition of the offender from prison to the community”.