Tony Gregory
Question:134 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the current position regarding the application of a prisoner (details supplied) for repatriation to an Irish prison. [18375/97]
Written Answers - Prisoner Transfers.
The position is that I have recently refused the application for transfer into this jurisdiction from the person referred to in the question. This decision was taken after full and detailed consideration of his application by my Department.
The Deputy will be aware that the Convention of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons was conceived as an instrument to further an offenders social rehabilitation — an objective that can usefully only be pursued if the offender has familyclose ties in this country. The person referred to in the question was born in the United Kingdom and has lived most, if not all, of his life there. There was no evidence to confirm that he had ever resided in Ireland or to support his contention that the majority of his family live here.
Based on the information available, it was evident that the person referred to had insufficient ties with this jurisdiction in order to justify a transfer under the Convention.
The Deputy may wish to note that both the person referred to and the United Kingdom authorities have only recently been informed of my decision in this matter.