§ Mr. Frank Maguireasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many persons are being held on offences awaiting trial before special courts, where bail is being refused; what is the average period that these persons are held before being brought to trial; what is the breakdown of the figures for (a) those sentenced for terrorist-type offences and (b) 202W those held awaiting trial, into Loyalist and Republican groupings, respectively; what has been the total number of years outstanding to be served by those already sentenced; and what has been the total number of years including those served by internees between 1969 and the present;
(2) what is the breakdown of the figures of (a) the total time served by those held on terrorist-type offences, (b) the total time to be served by those already sentenced for terrorist-type offences and (c) the total time served by those being held for terrorist-type offences before trial, for Loyalists and Republicans, respectively.
§ Mr. MasonSome of the information is not available in the form requested. On 4th Decemeber a total of 657 untried prisoners were in custody on Northern Ireland; not all of these, however, were charged with scheduled offences. In respect of those persons remanded in custody charged with scheduled offences who were tried in the month of October 1977, the average time between first remand and trial was about 36 weeks.
However, taking the prison population as a whole, it is impossible without disproportionate effort to distinguish between those who have committed scheduled offences and those who have not. Furthermore, statistics about paramilitary affiliations claimed by individuals are only available for special category prisoners.
On 4th December there were 802 such prisoners, 460 claiming affiliation with Republic organisations, and 342 with Loyalist organisations. The special category prisoners at present in custody under determinate sentences have served approximately 1,950 years between them—Republicans 1,200; Loyalists 750. They have approximately 1,600 years still to serve—Republican 1,000; Loyalists 600.
The total number of years spent by persons in detention or internment between August 1971 and December 1975 under emergency legislation was approximately 3,000 years.
§ Mr. Frank Maguireasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many of the prisoners currently serving sentences for terrorist-type offences were 203W convicted before a special court; how many of these were convicted on statements made by the security forces without corroborating evidence; and how many have been convicted before a special court on the strength of an allegedly freely made statement.
§ Mr. MasonTerrorist-type offences are usually defined as offences which have been scheduled under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. All persons convicted on indictment for scheduled offences are dealt with by non-jury courts. The number of prisoners now serving sentences imposed by such courts is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. No complete information is available from records as to the nature of the evidence upon which convictions are founded.