Thirty-nine prisoners have escaped from prison since 2014 but that’s not the worrying statistic.
To date, there are currently six Irish convicts on the run from prison since 2014.
According to The Irish Examiner, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan confirmed that in 2017 two prisoners are still at large from prison and four have absconded from custody since January.
A group of 39 prisoners absconded from prison in 2014 and of that list, six still remain at large.
In a written Dáil reply to Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan, Flanagan stated: “Experience has shown that the vast majority of offenders who abscond return voluntarily or are returned to custody to complete their sentences within a short time frame.”
In October 2012, the director general of the Irish Prison Service established a project team to examine how the Irish Prison Service might reduce the number of prisoners who are unlawfully at large from custody.
“The project team has worked closely with An Garda Síochána and the Department of Social Protection and its work has led to the recommittal of a number of prisoners who had absconded from custody.”
“This project is ongoing.”
From 2004 to 2013, 902 convicts absconded from Irish prisons.
The biggest year for missing convicts was in 2009 when 133 convicts absconded from prison and 16 remained at large for the year.
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