Vol. 465 No. 6
222 Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Justice the current number of applications from prisoners serving sentences in Britain under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act, 1995; the date each application was received; when a decision will be made in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10319/96]
A total of 90 Irish prisoners in British prisons have applied for or expressed an interest in transferring to Ireland under the provisions of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act, 1995. Twenty-nine of these applications have been formally transmitted by the UK authorities to date. Of this number, seven were transmitted on 21 December 1995, nine on 1 March 1996, five on 18 March 1996 and eight on 4 April 1996. I have been in a position to give my formal consent to five of these applications. The remaining applications are currently under examination in my Department, some in further consultation with the Home Office and others in consultation with various other offices here, including the Chief State Solicitor's office. One of the applicants, whose transfer I consented to, arrived back in the State last week and another applicant is due to transfer today. The Deputy will be aware that under the terms of the Convention the two States involved in processing a transfer request are required to exchange extensive information relating to the prisoner. The information in question includes particulars of the offence, court warrants, sentence administration particulars, etc. Owing to the complexity of documentation required and the fact that some of the documentation is old — in one case going back 20 years — the process of information exchange is not one which can always be completed quickly.
