Parole involves release from prison under certain conditions. It’s available to prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and have served 12 years their sentence.
If you are granted parole, there are strict conditions that you must follow. These are listed on the parole order given to you by the Parole Board.
If you are released on parole, you are still serving a life sentence but in the community. You may be returned to prison if you re-offend or break any of the conditions of your parole order.
Victims can make submissions to the new Parole Board and can have legal representation during the submission process.
The Parole Board will make its decisions about parole independently from the Minister for Justice.
Every year, the Irish Prison Service will send a list of prisoners who will be eligible for parole in the following 18 months to the Parole Board.
If you are on that list the Parole Board will send you a letter informing you that you are eligible to apply for parole.
When you receive this letter you can decide whether you want to apply for parole. If you apply, you can access a legal representative to help guide you through the process.
The Parole Board may request reports about you from a number of sources including the prison governor, prison psychology service, the Probation Service, and An Garda Síochána.
These reports will be shared with you and your legal representative in all but exceptional circumstances. This information will be discussed with you before any decision or recommendation is made. Members of the Parole Board will arrange to meet with you to discuss your application.
You will be eligible to apply for parole if you are serving a life sentence in prison or place of detention and have served at least 12 years of that life sentence.
You cannot be referred to apply for parole if you are currently a patient in a designated centre - for example, the Central Mental Hospital. You may be referred after your return to prison.
If you are not granted release on your parole application, the Parole Board will tell you when you can apply again.
Prisoners may have to go through the Parole process several times and demonstrate meaningful progress with rehabilitation before they will be granted parole.
For further information, see the document below.
