A TOTAL of 134 prisoners across the Republic’s jails have been granted temporary release for the Christmas period.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said just over half of those granted the traditional release period are serving their sentences in open or low-security prisons.
The total number of inmates being released is down on last year, when 176 were set free for the holiday period.
This year’s total represents 2.5 per cent of the total prison population.
The periods of release vary in length from a number of hours on Christmas Day to periods of up to one week.
Malcolm Macarthur (62), who was jailed in 1982 for murdering nurse Bridie Gargan in the Phoenix Park, is being released for part of Christmas Day to spend time with his family.
Macarthur is being released for a number of hours and will return to prison in Shelton Abbey, Co Wicklow, on Christmas night.
It is his fourth period of temporary release.
Former Army private Seán Courtney, who has served 17 years of a life sentence for the murder of Dublin woman Patricia O’Toole in the Dublin Mountains, is being released for three days from Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon.
Courtney (43), of South Circular Road, Dublin, was found guilty in January 1993 at the Central Criminal Court of murdering Ms O’Toole (32), an insurance employee from Killiney, at Mount Venus Road, Rathfarnham, in August 1991.
The practice of granting some inmates temporary release over Christmas is long established and is provided for in the Criminal Justice Act 1960.
Inmates who want to be released must apply to the authorities in the prisons where they are being held.
Their application is considered on a number of grounds, including any risk they might pose to the public and their behaviour during their sentence.
A significant number of those granted temporary release are nearing the end of long sentences, and some have enjoyed previous periods of temporary release to ready them for their full release.
Some of those being freed have secured release on compassionate grounds, usually because a loved one is ill or because they themselves are ill.
The severity of a person’s crimes is taken into account when their application for release is considered.
All releases are subject to a number of conditions.
Some inmates who will be released for only a few hours on Christmas Day must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.
Others released for longer periods must sign on at their local Garda station every day and must not come to the attention of gardaí.
Any offender who fails to comply with conditions can be arrested immediately and returned to prison.