§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many prisoners convicted for offences related to republican terrorist activity have been transferred from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland since 9 February; [6748]
(2) how many people in Northern Ireland involved in republican or loyalist terrorist activity have been sentenced to life imprisonment for offences committed since 31 August 1994; [6750]
(3) how many prisoners convicted for offences related to republican terrorist activity are currently applying to be transferred under international agreement to prisons in the Republic of Ireland; [6753]
(4) how many prisoners convicted for offences related to republican and loyalist terrorist activity are currently held in prisons in Northern Ireland. [6747]
§ Sir John WheelerResponsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. Alan Shannon. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from B. R. D. White to Mr. Andrew Hunter, dated 3 December 1996:
In the absence of the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to the four Parliamentary questions you have tabled.Your questions concerned prisoners convicted in Northern Ireland of offences relating to republican and loyalist terrorist activity. You sought information on the number of such prisoners currently in custody in Northern Ireland; the number who had applied for or had been successfully repatriated to the Republic of Ireland since 9 February 1996; and the number who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for offences committed since 31 August 1994.The Prison Service does not hold centrally statistical information on the number of prisoners convicted of offences related to republican and loyalist terrorist activity. This information could only be made available at disproportionate cost.The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons was ratified by the Republic of Ireland in November 1995. Since that date no prisoner for whom the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has responsibility has been repatriated to the Republic of Ireland. The Northern Ireland Prison Service is not in receipt of any applications for repatriation.No prisoner given a life sentence has been convicted of offences related to republican or loyalist activity committed since 31 August 1994.