§ Mr. McCuskerTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Loyalist and Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland received compassionate parole during the last three years; and what was the average length of parole for each category.
§ Mr. Ian StewartDuring the last three years compassionate home leave was granted on 340 occasions to both determinate and indeterminate sentence prisoners. Based on their believed paramilitary affiliation, 69 were Loyalist prisoners for an average period of 11.5 hours, 136 Republican prisoners for an averge period of 12.2 hours, and 135 prisoners with no believed paramilitary affiliation for an average period of 14.6 hours. The length of a period of compassionate home leave in any individual case depends upon a number of factors, including the distance a prisoner has to travel and the mode of travel.