The necessary legislative changes arising from the ruling in the case of O'Farrell, McDonald, Rafferty v The Governor of Portlaoise Prison have been considered by my Department having consulted with the Office of the Attorney General and the Irish Prison Service.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the Government approved the General Scheme of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Amendment) Bill and its submission for pre-legislative scrutiny on 19 February 2019. The purpose of this Bill is to address the findings of the judgement in this case, and provides for a number of technical amendments to current legislation providing for the transfer of prisoners who wish to serve their remaining sentences in the State.
The Committee on Justice and Equality waived the requirement for this Bill to undergo pre-legislative scrutiny in March 2019. The Scheme is now with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting.