Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 8 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 1

Written Answers. - Prisoner Transfer Applications.

Tony Gregory

Ceist:

169 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice the number of Irish prisoners in British jails who have applied to transfer to Irish prisons; when each application was made; and the current stage of processing of each application. [9266/96]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

A total of 89 Irish prisoners in British prisons have applied or expressed an interest in transferring to Ireland under the provisions of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act, 1995.

A total of 29 applications to transfer to this jurisdiction 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 formally consented to five of these applications. The remaining applications are all under examination in my Department, some in consultation with various other offices including the Chief State Solicitor's office. One prisoner has already been returned to this jurisdiction from the US under the Convention.

Under the terms of the Convention, the two States involved in processing a transfer request are required to exchange information relating to the prisoner. The information in question includes particulars of the offence, court warrants, sentence administration particular, etc. Owing to the complexity of documentation required, the process of information exchange is not one which can be completed quickly.