Concerns over number of prisoners given temporary release

Four prisoners convicted of homicide offences have availed of temporary release this year, alongside two for kidnapping, 47 for weapons and explosive offences, and 52 for sexual offences.

As of Friday, October 9, Irish prisons were operating at 114% capacity, according to the Irish Prison Service.

More than 1,600 prisoners were given temporary release over the first half of 2026, including inmates serving sentences for homicide, sexual offences, and kidnapping.

Of those given brief periods of freedom were 10 prisoners who had been serving sentences for more than a decade.

The total of 1,628 temporary releases for the first half of this year compares to just 2,150 for the entirety of 2021.

Concerns have been raised that temporary release is now being used as a stopgap measure to try to deal with chronic overcrowding in prison, rather than as a way to rehabilitate prisoners.

“It's clearly being used as a way to alleviate that pressure in some way,” said Saoirse Brady, the executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust.

As of Friday, October 9, Irish prisons were operating at 114% capacity, according to the Irish Prison Service.

Ms Brady said a backlog of court cases stemming from the ongoing solicitors' strike would heap more pressure onto the creaking service.

According to figures released to the Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information legislation, the most common types of convictions put on temporary release were:

• Theft and related offences (410);
• Controlled drug offences (206);
• Attempts/threat to murder, assaults, harassment, and related offences (179).

However, there were also four prisoners convicted of homicide offences who availed of temporary release, alongside two for kidnapping, 47 for weapons and explosive offences, and 52 for sexual offences.

In response to queries, the Irish Prison Service told the Irish Examiner that temporary releases were granted as a means to help prisoners rehabilitate and re-engage with communities.

In the case of prisoners deemed to be a threat to society, they were only granted temporary release at the end of their sentence’s lifetime in order for them to plan their reintegration, such as being given leave to register on social housing lists.

'Very concerning'

Matt Carthy, Sinn Féin’s justice spokesperson and chairman of the Oireachtas justice committee, said the figures are “very concerning". 

“The minister [Jim O’Callaghan] needs to assure the public that temporary releases are not being driven by the overcrowding in prisons rather than a co-ordinated approach to humanitarian needs such as bereavements or other specific policies,” Mr Carthy told the Irish Examiner.

The number of temporary releases issued over the first half of the year directly correspond with prisons facing documented overcrowding issues, such as Mountjoy in Dublin (427 temporary releases) or Cork Prison (194 temporary releases).

“The public need assurances that those who need to be behind bars because they are a danger to the public are kept there for the duration of their sentences while others who have ended up in prison because of a lack of mental health services are able to access those services so they don’t end up occupying prison spaces,” Mr Carthy said.

In August, the Irish Examiner reported that overcrowding had resulted in a pronounced increase in the number of prisoners sharing a toilet in cells (from 2,369 to 3,653 inmates).

There was a 38% increase in the number of prisoners in cells holding four or more inmates and a 150% jump in the number of prisoners in cells with three people.

Around 48.4% of prisoners let out on temporary release were serving sentences less than a year long. 

Saoirse Brady said the figures led to questions on whether community-based rehabilitation would be more appropriate.

“Instead of using temporary release as a way to alleviate overcrowding, we need to take a step back and actually look at why somebody is sent to prison in the first place, and stop that from happening,” she said.

“You can use things like community service orders, and they're much more cost-effective as well.”