HC Deb 09 February 1998 vol 306 cc23-4W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long each transfer of prisoners to the Republic of Ireland has so far taken to complete; if he will list the stages in the transfer operation for which he is responsible; and what targets he has set for each stage and for the total average transfer time. [27409]

Ms Quin

Since 1 November 1995, 26 prisoners have been repatriated from England and Wales to the Republic of Ireland. Each case took the following number of days respectively to complete: 379, 764, 203, 779, 379, 379, 412, 764, 807, 757, 794, 196, 185, 178, 179, 178, 178, 555, 612, 644, 425, 618, 331, 463, 79, 316.

Because each case is considered on its individual merits, and circumstances vary from case to case, it is not considered appropriate to set targets for the completion of individual stages in the repatriation process. As a second jurisdiction is also involved in the consideration of repatriation applications, it is similarly inappropriate to set a target for final completion.

The United Kingdom authorities are initially responsible under the terms of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons for obtaining and collating relevant documentation required in support of each repatriation application, and where a particular request appears to meet the requirements of the Convention, for referring it to the receiving jurisdiction.

If the other jurisdiction agrees to receive the prisoner, the United Kingdom is responsible for ensuring that the prisoner's sentence will continue to be enforced in the receiving jurisdiction, and for deciding whether to agree to the transfer. The United Kingdom is then responsible for providing the prisoner in writing with the details of the basis on which repatriation will take place, for obtaining the prisoner's written consent to repatriation, and for forwarding this to the receiving jurisdiction.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for prisoner transfer to the Republic of Ireland have been withdrawn or resolved without a transfer. [27412]

Ms Quin

Fifty-three applications for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland submitted by prisoners in England and Wales have been withdrawn or resolved without a transfer.