Vol. 463 No. 6
103 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has raised the question with the British authorities regarding their refusal to grant a transfer to a person (details supplied) who is currently being held in Fullsutton Prison in York, England and who applied for a transfer to Northern Ireland; and if he has pointed out to the British authorities that previously temporary transfers to Northern Ireland were granted pending appeals. [7004/96]
The Government has consistently emphasised its support for the principle that, wherever possible, prisoners should be permitted to serve their sentences close to their families. Many additional difficulties are imposed when prisoners are required to serve their sentences far away from families and friends.
Nineteen Republican prisoners have been transferred from prisons in Britain to Northern Ireland since July 1994. We have welcomed these transfers and will continue to press for a positive approach to requests for such transfers in the future.
Regarding the specific case raised by the Deputy, he will be aware that the person in question has recently been granted a temporary transfer to take effect only after the hearing of his appeal. I understand that this is scheduled for 17 July 1996. On my instructions, officials of the Irish Embassy in London raised this case at a meeting yesterday with the relevant British authorities. The position of those authorities is that it is the standard practice for transfers of this kind to be delayed until the hearing of any appeal is concluded. However, I understand that there has been at least one exception to this practice and I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to press for the earliest possible transfer of the person in question.
104 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the representations, if any, he has made regarding an application for a transfer by a person (details supplied), who has already served over 20 years in a British prison and who was refused parole by the parole board in Christmas 1995 in spite of the fact that the Lord Chief Justice, in England, recommended release in February 1995. [7005/96]
I reiterate the Government's commitment to receiving all those Republican prisoners who have applied for transfer to prison in this jurisdiction under the terms of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
Transfer application papers for the person referred to by the Deputy were processed on our side and returned to the British authorities in early February 1996, and it was subsequently indicated that the person in question would be granted a transfer. Following further contact yesterday between Irish Embassy officials and the British authorities, it was confirmed that the person in question has given formal consent to a transfer and I expect that this will proceed shortly.
I assure the Deputy that prisons issues remain a key element in the broader context of the peace process. They will continue to be discussed fully with the British authorities through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, and are also raised on an ongoing basis through our Embassy in London and the Anglo-Irish Secretariat.
