Parole Act 2019

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Parole Act 2019.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed by order or orders made by the Minister, either generally or by reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes or different provisions.

2. Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1960” means the Criminal Justice Act 1960;

“Act of 2001” means the Children Act 2001;

“Act of 2005” means the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005;

“Act of 2006” means the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006;

“Act of 2007” means the Medical Practitioners Act 2007;

“Act of 2010” means the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010;

“application for parole” has the meaning assigned to it by section 26(3);

“Board” means the Parole Board established under section 8 (1);

“chief executive”, in relation to the Board, has the meaning assigned to it by section 18(1);

“child”, other than in the definition of family member, means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years;

“children detention school” has the meaning it has in section 3(1) of the Act of 2001;

“civil partner” means a person in a civil partnership or legal relationship to which section 3 of the Act of 2010 applies;

“cohabitant” means a cohabitant within the meaning of section 172(1) of the Act of 2010;

“designated centre” has the meaning it has in section 1 of the Act of 2006;

“eligible for parole”, in relation to a person, means eligible for parole in accordance with section 24;

“establishment day” means the day appointed under section 7;

“family member”, in relation to a victim, means—

(a) a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the victim,

(b) a child or step-child of the victim,

(c) a parent or grandparent of the victim,

(d) a brother, sister, half brother or half sister of the victim,

(e) a grandchild of the victim,

(f) an aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the victim, and

(g) any other person—

(i) who was dependent on the victim, or

(ii) who the Board considers had a sufficiently close connection with the victim as to warrant his or her being treated as a family member;

“governor”, in relation to a prison, means—

(a) the governor of the prison, or

(b) a person who is for the time being performing the functions of governor of the prison;

“Irish Prison Service” means the prison service of the Department of Justice and Equality, which is charged with the management of prisons;

“legal representative” means a practising solicitor or a practising barrister;

“Minister” means the Minister for Justice and Equality;

“parole” means the release from prison pursuant to a parole order of a person serving a term of imprisonment prior to the expiry of that term;

“parole applicant” means a person who has made an application for parole;

“parolee” means a person who is the subject of a parole order;

“parole order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 27(1);

“prison” means a place of custody administered by or on behalf of the Minister (other than a Garda Síochána station) and includes—

(a) a place provided under section 2 of the Prisons Act 1970, and

(b) a place specified under section 3 of the Prisons Act 1972;

“probation officer” means a person appointed by the Minister to be a probation officer;

“Probation Service” means those officers of the Minister assigned to perform functions in the part of the Department of State for which the Minister is responsible commonly known by that name;

“medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who is for the time being registered in the register of medical practitioners;

“psychiatrist” means a medical practitioner who is for the time being registered in the Specialist Division of the register of medical practitioners under the medical specialty of “Psychiatry” or under the medical specialty of “Child and Adolescent Psychiatry”;

“psychologist” means a person—

(a) who practices as such,

(b) who holds a qualification listed opposite the profession of psychologist in the third column of Schedule 3 to the Act of 2005 or a qualification that is a corresponding qualification, within the meaning of section 90 of that Act, to that qualification, and

(c) following the establishment under section 36 of the Act of 2005 of the register of members of the profession of psychologist, whose name is for the time being entered in that register;

“register of medical practitioners” means the register of medical practitioners established under section 43 of the Act of 2007;

“relevant governor”, in relation to a parole applicant or parolee, means—

(a) where the parole applicant or parolee, as the case may be, is detained in a prison, the governor of the prison where he or she is so detained,

(b) where the parole applicant or parolee, as the case may be, is on release from prison for a temporary period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2 of the Act of 1960, the governor of the prison from which he or she is F1[so released,]

F2[(ba) where the parole applicant or parolee, as the case may be, is on conditional release from prison in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960, the governor of the prison from which he or she is so released, or]

(c) where the parolee is on release from prison on parole, the governor of the prison from which he or she is so released;

“relevant victim”, in relation to a parole applicant or a parolee, means the victim of the criminal offence in respect of which the parole applicant or the parolee, as the case may be, is serving the sentence of imprisonment to which the application for parole or the parole order, as the case may be, relates;

“victim” means a natural person who has suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss, which was directly caused by an offence.

(2) Subject to section 3, a reference to a victim in this Act shall, where the death of a victim is caused directly by an offence, be construed as a reference to a family member provided that the family member concerned has not been charged with, or is not under investigation for, an offence in connection with the death of the victim.

(3) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a person serving a sentence of imprisonment shall be construed as F1[including]—

(i) a person upon whom a sentence of detention was imposed by a court when he or she was a child where he or she has been transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of the sentence in accordance with section 155 of the F1[Act of 2001,]

(ii) a person who is released from prison for a temporary period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2 of the F1[Act of 1960, and]

F2[(iii) a person who is released from prison on conditional release in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960,]

and

(b) for the purposes of calculating the length of a sentence of imprisonment, or the portion of such a sentence served—

(i) any period of detention served in a children detention school by the person where he or she has been transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of the sentence in accordance with section 155 of the Act of 2001,

(ii) any time spent in a designated centre, where the person has been transferred to the designated centre pursuant to section 15 of the Act of 2006, while serving the sentence of F1[imprisonment,]

(iii) any time spent on release from prison for a temporary period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2 of the Act of 1960 while serving the sentence of imprisonment other than time spent on such release where the currency of the sentence of the person is suspended pursuant to section 5 of F1[that Act, and]

F2[(iv) any time spent on conditional release from prison for a period in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 2A of the Act of 1960 while serving the sentence of imprisonment other than time spent on such release where the currency of the sentence of the person is suspended pursuant to section 5 of that Act,]

shall be included.

3. Nomination of family members

3. Where the death of a relevant victim is caused directly by an offence and more than one family member of the victim seeks to make a submission to the Board in accordance with procedures determined under section 14, the Board may—

(a) request that the family members concerned nominate a family member to make such submission, or

(b) where the family members are unable to reach agreement in respect of a nomination under paragraph (a), nominate one or more family members for the purposes of making the submission, having regard to the degree of relationship between the family members and the victim.

4. Regulations

4. (1) The Minister may by regulations provide for any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, regulations under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

5. Expenses

5. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

6. Application of Act

6. (1) This Act is without prejudice to—

(a) the power of the Minister to give a direction that a person be released from prison for a temporary period under section 2 of the Act of 1960,

F3[(aa) the power of the Minister to give a direction that a person be released from prison for a period under section 2A of the Act of 1960,]

(b) the power to commute or remit a punishment under section 23 of the Criminal Justice Act 1951, or

(c) rules or practice whereby prisoners generally may earn remission of sentences by industry or good conduct,

or anything done under those sections or rules, or in accordance with that practice, as the case may be, whether prior to or after the commencement of this section.

(2) This Act shall not apply to qualifying prisoners within the meaning of the Criminal Justice (Release of Prisoners) Act 1998.

PART 2 The Parole Board

7. Establishment day

7. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.

8. Establishment of Board

8. (1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body which shall be known as An Bord Parúil or, in the English language, the Parole Board, (in this Act referred to as the “Board”) to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name, and shall, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, have power to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land, and to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.

(3) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by—

(a) the signatures of 2 members of the Board, or

(b) the signatures of both—

(i) a member of the Board, and

(ii) such member of the staff of the Board as is authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.

(4) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Board and any document purporting to be an instrument made by, and to be sealed with the seal of, the Board shall be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof, unless the contrary is shown.

9. Functions of Board

9. (1) The Board, in addition to the other functions conferred on it by this Act—

(a) shall provide information to persons serving sentences of imprisonment, victims and members of the public in relation to its functions,

(b) shall provide information to the Minister in relation to its functions and make recommendations to the Minister, upon his or her request, to assist him or her in coordinating and making policy related to the release of persons from prison on parole, and

(c) may undertake, commission or assist in research projects and other activities related to the release of persons from prison on parole which in the opinion of the Board may assist it in the exercise of its functions, and make recommendations to the Minister arising from those projects or activities.

(2) Subject to this Act, the Board shall be independent in the exercise of its functions.

(3) Any function of the Board may be performed through or by the chief executive or any member of the staff of the Board duly authorised in that behalf by the Board.

10. Membership of Board

10. (1) Subject to this section, the Board shall consist of such and so many members, including the chairperson, not being fewer than 12 or more than 15 in number, as the Minister may consider appropriate.

(2) The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister.

(3) Of the persons appointed to be members of the Board—

(a) one shall be—

(i) a judge, or a retired judge, of the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court,

(ii) a practising barrister or practising solicitor of not less than 10 years’ standing, or

(iii) a legal academic of not less than 10 years’ standing who has been employed as such for a continuous period of not less than 2 years immediately before such appointment,

nominated for appointment by the Chief Justice,

(b) one shall be a practising barrister of not less than 5 years’ standing nominated for appointment by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland,

(c) one shall be a practising solicitor of not less than 5 years’ standing nominated for appointment by the Law Society of Ireland,

(d) two shall be psychiatrists nominated for appointment by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland,

(e) two shall be psychologists nominated for appointment by the Psychological Society of Ireland,

(f) one shall be a member of staff of the Irish Prison Service nominated by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service,

(g) one shall be a serving member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of superintendent nominated by the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána,

(h) one shall be a member of staff of the Probation Service nominated by the Director of the Probation Service,

(i) one shall be a representative of a non-governmental organisation that specialises in advocating for the rights of persons serving terms of imprisonment in prisons or the amelioration of conditions in prisons, and

(j) the remaining member or members shall be such other person or persons as, in the opinion of the Minister, has or have sufficient experience and expertise relating to matters connected with the functions of the Board to enable him, her or them to make a substantial contribution to the effective performance of those functions.

(4) The person appointed as a member of the Board pursuant to the nomination of the Chief Justice under subsection (3)(a) shall act as chairperson of the Board.

(5) In appointing a person to be a member of the Board, the Minister shall satisfy himself or herself that the person has—

(a) a knowledge and understanding of the criminal justice system, and

(b) the ability to make a reasonable and balanced assessment of—

(i) the risk a person serving a sentence of imprisonment might present to the safety and security of members of the public if released on parole,

(ii) the extent to which such a person has been rehabilitated and would, if released on parole, be capable of reintegrating into society, and

(iii) whether it is appropriate in all the circumstances that such a person be released on parole.

(6) In nominating persons for appointment under this section, a nominating person or body referred to in subsection (3), other than the Chief Justice—

(a) shall—

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii), nominate a primary nominee of one sex and a substitute nominee of the other sex, and

(ii) in the case of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland or the Psychological Society of Ireland, where the two members of the Board to be nominated by the body under subsection (3)(d) or (e), as the case may be, are nominated at the same time, nominate one man and one woman,

and

(b) shall satisfy itself that its nominees meet the criteria specified in subsection (5).

(7) In appointing members of the Board, the Minister shall—

(a) have regard to the objective of there being no fewer than 6 members who are women and no fewer than 6 members who are men, and

(b) appoint a substitute nominee referred to in subsection (6)(a) rather than a primary nominee of the nominating body concerned, but only where necessary in order to achieve that objective.

(8) In this section—

“Director of the Probation Service” means the person appointed by the Minister to the post of Director of the Probation Service;

“legal academic” means a permanent member of the academic staff of an educational establishment who—

(a) teaches one or more subjects in the field of law, or

(b) carries out, or supervises the carrying out of, research in one or more such subjects, whether or not in conjunction with the carrying on by him or her of administrative duties relevant to that teaching, research or supervision;

“educational establishment” means—

(a) a university to which the Universities Act 1997 applies,

(b) the Honorable Society of King’s Inns, or

(c) the Law Society of Ireland,

and in computing, for the purposes of this section, any period that a person must have served as a legal academic, successive employment of the person by 2 or more of any of the foregoing educational establishments shall suffice.

11. Term of appointment of members of Board

11. (1) Subject to this section and section 12, a member of the Board shall hold office for the period of 4 years from the date of his or her appointment.