Nineteen prisoners granted temporary release for Christmas have failed to return to custody and remain at large, the Irish Prison Service has confirmed.
Gardaí are seeking the prisoners who should have returned on dates between December 27th and 29th. Most were due for release within the next eight months and four were to be released in January and February, a spokesman for the prison service said.
A spokesman said the numbers at large were in line with trends in previous years and the prison service was confident all would return to prison, as has happened in the past.
The prison service added that those granted release were nearing the end of their sentence and did not pose a risk to public safety.
A total of 294 prisoners had been granted varying periods of temporary release at Christmas under the Criminal Justice Act, 1960.
This is about 9 per cent of the prisoner population and is a small reduction on the 307 inmates temporarily released over Christmas last year.
Dessie O'Hare, the so-called "Border Fox", was released for four days and returned on time.
Those released were "not likely to cause any serious trouble", the spokesman said.
"Most of them lead chaotic lives and are likely to come back in with flimsy excuses. But I am confident enough that they will either turn up of their own accord or will be brought back," the spokesman added.