Vol. 490 No. 5
271 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will arrange an early hearing by the sentence review group of a person (details supplied) who has transferred from Canada to this country and whose review has been pending for some time. [10669/98]
I am aware of the person to whom the Deputy refers but it is long standing practice not to comment in detail on the case of an individual prisoner and I do not propose to make an exception to that practice in this instance.
Before a review takes place detailed documentation is prepared for presentation to the group. This would include, probation and welfare report, psychological-psychiatric report, if appropriate and report of local review committee. For these reports to be meaningful the prisoner must first engage for a reasonable period with the probation and welfare services and the therapeutic services. The person referred to in the Deputy's question transferred to this jurisdiction in December last year and it is hoped that he will be seen by the Sentence Review Group later this year, possibly September. The Deputy may also wish to note that the person referred to has been kept fully informed by my Department.
