A NEW parole board was needed to run a planned release system for prisons, the POA conference was told.
Mr Ray Murphy, POA assistant general secretary, said overcrowding meant the early release system was "in a chaotic state". "The revolving door system as we know it has practically come off its binges," he said. "In some cases prisoners are released having completed only hours of a one or two year sentence."
A statutory board should be established, he added, which would study each prisoner's file and make decisions about releases accordingly. The board should include members representing "the interests of the community" and hear presentations on behalf of victims of prisoners.
One of the new problems facing overcrowded prisons is the voluntary return of homeless inmates, Mr Murphy said. He said some prisoners released early from the women's prison in Dublin had come "knocking on the door" trying to get back in, saying that any available hostel accommodation had been taken over by refugees from abroad.