Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
587. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who are currently in custody waiting to be extradited back to Ireland but whose extradition has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39711/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will appreciate that I have no role in, or influence over, the processing of extradition or European Arrest Warrant (EAW) requests in other jurisdictions and that therefore I cannot give a definitive answer to the question he has raised.
What I can say is that, based on information available to the Irish Central Authority for extradition, there are four known cases involving the surrender of individuals to this jurisdiction where factors related to Covid 19 have contributed to delays. Of these four individuals, one is known to be in custody and one is on bail. It has not been possible to establish the position with the other cases by the reply date of this question. Planning is continuing to bring about these extraditions as soon as possible.
In the wider context, surrenders to Ireland are still ongoing. Since June of this year, a total of 22 individuals have been extradited to Ireland from a variety of states.
