Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I understand that the other prison where Michael Campbell is being held is almost as bad as Lukiškės Prison, and the conditions, particularly regarding non-contact visits using a phone through glass or Perspex, along with sanitation conditions in the prison, are a disgrace. In Lukiškės Prison, a number of prisoners in a cell all share a hole in the ground and also share terrible visiting conditions. The High Court here refused to extradite somebody to Lithuania because of the conditions, as did the extradition court in Belfast. Ensuring this Government is represented at the highest level possible at the appeal hearing tomorrow is in the interests of the human rights of the prisoner in question, Michael Campbell, and is also a statement of intent that the Irish Government and people will not accept the infliction of such inhumane conditions on any prisoner, irrespective of who he or she is, especially if it is a person over whom we have jurisdiction.

See this speech in context