ABOUT 360 prisoners are to be granted varying periods of temporary release this Christmas, the Department of Justice has confirmed. The prisoners, including 20 republican inmates, began leaving their respective institutions last night as part of the now traditional Christmas release permitted under the 1960 Criminal Justice Act.
Some of the prisoners are being released for only a few hours while others are being released under escort. A small number are being allowed out for up to 14 days.
The Department of Justice emphasised that the releases were subject to stringent conditions which could require prisoners to report regularly to a local Garda station.
The Christmas releases coincided witch the transfer of the first prisoners into a newly completed unit at Castlereagh Prison in Co Roscommon.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said there was "no particular reason" that the number of prisoners being released this Christmas was thirty fewer than last year.
Many of those being let out for the Christmas break are serving relatively short sentences or are nearing the end of their jail terms.
According to the Department, the criteria taken into account in assessing cases for Christmas release include length of sentence already served, "compassionate and humane considerations", the nature of the offence and the offender's previous criminal history.