asked the Minister for Justice the rules relative to parole in prisons and whether he is satisfied with the system as it operates at present.

There are no rigid rules governing the matter of temporary release of persons in custody and I believe that this is as it should be, as an important consideration is the assessment of the individual offender by those in the various services who come in contact with him while he is serving his sentence. Other considerations that call for an individual, flexible, approach include such matters as his domestic circumstances and the availability of a job for him.

Who makes the decision in this regard? Is there any general rule? I have often heard that people with good conduct may have one third of their sentence remitted.

I am afraid the buck stops here. I make the decision on the recommendations of those who are naturally associated with my Department, the Prison Service. These people are in a position to make an assessment of a particular individual.

I am sure the Minister would agree that the most difficult period is immediately after release. Would the Minister consider trying to facilitate the return to public life of the ex-prisoner, particularly from the point of view of his entitlement to social welfare benefits or assistance of some kind? Part of the problem is that the ex-inmate has no funds of any kind for a number of weeks.

I accept the validity of the suggestion put forward by Deputy Keating. This is something that is causing us concern and which we are examining at present. We fully realise the importance of having a firm base, as it were, for the person released from prison.

Would it be too premature to say when some decisions might be reached?

A little premature.