asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1) the number of Irish persons detained in British jails outside of Northern Ireland; and (2) of those the number of Irish prisoners who have requested repatriation to prisons in (a) the Republic of Ireland and (b) in Northern Ireland.
Written Answers. - Convicted Persons in English Prisons.
18.
According to figures supplied by the British Home Office there are currently 955 convicted persons from Ireland detained in prisons in England and Wales; of these 303 are from Northern Ireland. The Scottish Office has provided the information that in 1985 there were 114 Irish prisoners detained in Scotland of whom 103 were from Northern Ireland.
No figures are available regarding those who have requested a transfer from Britain to serve the remainder of their sentences in Ireland. In the case of our jurisdiction, such transfers will not take place under the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons until the Convention has been ratified; transfers to Northern Ireland are a matter for the British authorities.