Northern Ireland Parole Commissioners appointments

Justice Minister Naomi Long has announced the reappointment of Paul Mageean to the role of Chief Commissioner to the Parole Commission for Northern Ireland along with the reappointment of 27 Parole Commissioners. 

Congratulating Paul Mageean on his reappointment, the Minister also thanked the Parole Commissioners for their willingness, dedication and commitment to the Parole Commission.

The Minister commented: “Their work in providing independent decisions in the process of deciding if offenders, who are eligible for parole, are safe to be released back into the community is crucial. Public protection is and always will be paramount with risk assessment being key to making a robust decision in any case.”

The Parole Commissioners are an independent body who make decisions on the release and recall of all life sentence and public protection sentence prisoners in Northern Ireland. They also make decisions on the recall and further release of determinate custodial sentenced prisoners who have been sentenced to 12 months or more.

Notes to Editors:

1. The Parole Commissioners were established on 15 May 2008 through the renaming of the Life Sentence Review Commissioners (LSRC) under Article 46(1) of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 and are required by legislation to decide on the release of life sentenced prisoners, prisoners serving indeterminate custodial sentences and prisoners serving extended custodial sentences and whether those released on licence should be recalled.
2. There are currently 37 Parole Commissioners covering the roles Chief Commissioner, Criminal Justice, Legal, Psychiatry and Psychology.
3. The Commissioners are based in Laganside Court, Belfast.
4. Commissioner appointments will generally be for a 3-year term from 9 September 2025.