Vol. 480 No. 6
482 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reasons for the long delays in processing requests for the transfer of sentenced persons from prisons in the United Kingdom to Irish Prisons; the average length of time it takes to process such applications; and if he will expedite the request regarding a prisoner (details supplied) who wishes to be transferred to an Irish prison in view of his special circumstances. [14501/97]
Under the terms of the convention on the transfer of sentenced persons, the two states involved in processing a transfer request are required to exchange information about the sentenced person. The information includes a copy of the judgment and the law on which it is based, sentence administration particulars and medical/social reports. These must be obtained from a number of different sources, including various agencies who have to be contacted in order to submit reports, etc. Owing to the complexity of the documentation required and the fact that some of these cases go back twenty or so years, the process of information exchange is not one which can be completed quickly. For these reasons and the fact that each case is considered on its own individual and particular merits, the timescale for completing a transfer can vary significantly from one case to another. It is therefore difficult to state how long it may take for any application to be processed, but on the basis of the transfers completed to date (24 September 1997) from the United Kingdom, the average processing period from date of receipt of the application to date of transfer ranged from two to 18 months and averages out at nine months approximately.
While the person referred to in the question has, I understand, declared his interest in a transfer to this jurisdiction, no formal application from the United Kingdom authorities has yet been received in my Department. However, my Department is in regular contact with the United Kingdom authorities in relation to each application received. In this case, a request has been made for the necessary documentation to be transmitted as soon as possible for our consideration. I assure the Deputy that every effort will be made to process this application, as indeed with any other application, as expeditiously as possible.
