Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 December 2018
250. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department is accepting applications for repatriation of prisoners who are serving prison sentences abroad to Ireland; his plans to amend legislation which governs the decisions on applications regarding repatriation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50559/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 to 1997 give effect to the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons 1983. The Deputy will also be aware that there have been a number of recent Court judgements which have implications for transferring prisoners from other States to Ireland. These judgements raised a number of complex issues about the legislation and its administration, indicating that legislative change is required.
My Department is at present finalising a draft scheme of a Bill to bring forward such changes. This draft scheme will be brought to Government as soon as possible
The Convention recognises that international co-operation in criminal law should further the ends of justice and social rehabilitation of prisoners and that this may be best achieved by having them transferred to serve their sentences in their own countries. The Minister of the day has discretion under the Transfer of Persons Acts to decide whether to consent to any such transfer.
A number of factors, including the Supreme Court Judgment in the case of O'Farrell, McDonald, Rafferty -v-The Governor of Portlaoise Prison, have implications for the continuance in its present form of the process operated by the Irish Prison Service for transferring prisoners from other States to Ireland.
That judgment found against the State and raised a number of complex issues about the legislation itself and its administration.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal decision in the case M.McK v The Minister for Justice and Equality [2016] IEHC 208, has clarified that the Minister should ultimately consider each application on its own merits and give detailed reasoning for the decision reached.
The judgment also concludes that the Minister cannot fail to implement legislation through prolonged inactivity of a statutory scheme such as the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts. As the Deputy is aware, following the judgment, all existing applications have been reactivated and will be re-considered on their own merits.
I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that there are currently 27 cases with 8 being processed from applicants from outside the UK jurisdiction. Each case is at a different stage of the application process and all cases require the collation of a number of reports, e.g. Garda Reports and Probation Service Reports, some of which are still outstanding in a number of these cases.
