I accept that perception in this area is very important. The Deputy will concede that on the basis of the Supreme Court making a judgment in three cases — which were the first major test of the 1987 Act — and if having decided on a Friday in relation to it, the Government decided on Wednesday, on Thursday of last week to make the changes to close loopholes, there can be no perception of a safe haven here. The 1987 Act is in place and it would have been premature until it had been fully tested by the courts to have made any changes. Deputies should not lose sight of the fact that the 1987 Act gives full effect to the obligations we assumed when we signed the European convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and accords fully with international norms in the limitations it places on political offence exceptions for extradition purposes. Indeed, it is important to remember that Ireland is one of only eight countries to have acceded to the convention without entering a reservation. The remaining 14 parties have entered reservations which have the effect of making their legislation in this area less stringent than ours. I can assure the Deputy there will be no delay in bringing forward this legislation but it has to be carefully drafted to ensure that it complies with our Constitution.
I would remind the Deputy also that we have in place the Criminal Law Jurisdiction Act and I recommend — and have publicly recommended to the UK authorities — that we make greater use of it. On the 16 occasions it has been used it has proved successful on 13 occasions. I make this point publicly on all occasions when we discuss this matter at Anglo-Irish level. Apart from the changes in the law here, it will be necessary to introduce legislation in the United Kingdom Parliament on the rule of specialty because the Deputy, like myself, would have a strong view that if a citizen of this State is to be extradited he or she should only be brought before the court on the specific charges for which they were extradiated and that no changes in those charges can take place. It is a complex area but I can assure the Deputy that within a week of the Supreme Court making its judgment on the 1987 Act, immediate action was taken by me and the Government.