Christmas may have officially ended yesterday, but for one small group of revellers the festive period has gone on a little bit longer this year.
Of the 290 prisoners granted temporary release from prison for Christmas and New Year, 24 failed to return to jail on time.
A spokeswoman for the prison service said all of the prisoners granted release were due back on or before January 2nd, but on that date, 24 had failed to reappear.
The prison service yesterday could not say how many of those unlawfully at large had returned since the deadline last Thursday.
"We don't have a breakdown yet as to how many have returned since then," the spokeswoman said.
Mr John Lonergan, the governor of Mountjoy Prison, said 10 inmates had failed to return on time to the Dublin prison. "Generally if someone didn't return the gardaí in their local area would be informed and they would bring them back," he said. "Sometimes they would come back of their own accord but in some cases they wouldn't be detected until they reoffended."
The prisoners have failed to return to prison despite a series of strict conditions having been attached to their release by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
Usually a prisoner on temporary release is required to report on a regular basis to the local Garda station. Any prisoner who breaks the conditions may be arrested and returned to prison.
The Department of Justice does not generally grant temporary release to prisoners in the early stages of lengthy sentences. Many of those released temporarily over Christmas are nearing the end of their sentences, while others are serving short sentences often for minor offences. The periods of release ranged from a few hours to 10 nights. All of those released left prison on Christmas Eve. All 290 should have been back last Thursday. Some prisoners granted shorter release periods are required to be accompanied by another responsible person at all times.
Applications for Christmas release are considered on grounds of public safety. Compassionate and humane considerations as well as the nature and gravity of the offence; length of sentence served to date; prior record on temporary release, and previous criminal history are all taken into account.
In the past when prisoners have failed to report back to prison they have been given a few days grace to return. They would then be sought by gardaí.
This year some high-profile inmates were not granted release including Dessie O'Hare, Malcolm Macarthur, and the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe. However, one of the killers, Pearse McCauley, was granted temporary release last weekend to marry Sinn Féin councillor, Ms Pauline Tully.
