The government has confirmed plans to release around 5,000 prisoners early this October under its ongoing scheme to ease overcrowding – a lower number than the 6,000 originally expected. Announcing the update on 1 September, Justice Secretary Alex Norris said the priority was to protect public confidence in the justice system while still tackling the space crisis in men’s prisons.
Some categories of prisoner are excluded from the scheme altogether, including those convicted of manslaughter, rape, serious sexual offences against children, and members of grooming gangs. The manslaughter exclusion follows a long-running campaign by the family of PC Andrew Harper, who was killed in 2019.
The scheme has proved politically controversial – Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy pointed out this is the government’s fifth early-release policy in six weeks, while the Liberal Democrats criticised the “chaos and uncertainty” it has caused victims and their families over the summer. Ministers say a longer-term fix is coming through a major prison-building programme and eventual reform of indeterminate sentences.
If you or someone you know is affected by early release or recall, our ROTL & Early Release pages explain how the different schemes work.
Source: Irish News, 1 September 2026