THE State has paid compensation averaging £24,000 each to people assaulted by criminals unlawfully at large from prison or out on temporary release.
The State has already made settlements with three victims and four other cases are pending, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, has said. Departmental records showed the three settlements were made in the last few years.
The settlements concerned claims for injuries sustained by the victims when assaulted by the offenders. "Four similar claims are currently pending against the State. I am advised that it would be neither desirable nor appropriate to disclose the estimated costs of settling these claims," the Minister said, in a written reply to a recent parliamentary question.
The State had also paid the legal costs of the assault victims and the total bill amounted to £103,000, she added.
There are about 1,300 people "unlawfully at large" in the State. Many are people let out on bail or temporary release, who have failed to comply with their release conditions. Others are prisoners who have absconded.
Last month, the Progressive Democrats said the numbers of offenders at large represented a danger to the public.