§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many applications for prison transfers from prisons in(a) England and (b) Wales to (i) Northern Ireland, (ii) the Republic of Ireland and (iii) elsewhere are currently under consideration; and in each category how many applications have been (1) approved and (2) denied in each of the past 10 years; [16231]
(2) if he will approve outstanding prison transfer applications for Irish prisoners wishing to return to prisons in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the Republic of Ireland. [16232]
§ Miss WiddecombeEngland and Wales are treated as one jurisdiction and separate figures are not held. Repatriation to the Republic of Ireland was not possible until the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons came into force for the Republic on 1 November 1995. Information on applications received before this date is not recorded. Available information for the past 10 years is given in the table:
Transfer of prisoners from England and Wales Northern Ireland Other United Kingdom and foreign jurisdictions Transferred Refusal Transferred Refusal 1986 3 1 0 0 1987 3 7 0 0 1988 9 8 41 15 1989 15 40 47 17 1990 13 36 42 13 1991 28 30 45 19 1992 20 24 56 16 1993 8 9 35 18 1994 21 16 27 40 1995 16 8 47 73 On 22 February, 25 requests for transfer to Northern Ireland, 69 requests for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland and 91 requests for transfer to other United 397W Kingdom or foreign jurisdictions were under consideration. All outstanding requests will be determined on their individual merits. To date, no application for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland has been determined.