Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I wish to share time with Deputies Carey and Gormley. The fact that they are from different parties is an indication of the cross-party concern at what amounts to the snatching of an Irish citizen outside this jurisdiction by the United States. I refer to the arrest on 7 October of Seán Garland on a visit to Belfast, his remand under trial the following morning on foot of a warrant executed to the US Embassy in London, where the authorities purport to extradite him back to the US to face charges which have not been presented directly to him.

I do not dispute the legality of the charges or the right of any federal administration in any part of the world to pursue charges if they so choose. My concern is that — I am delighted that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is here — if the US Government wanted to serve a notice of extradition and charges to Seán Garland, it could have just as easily done so through Irish courts in this jurisdiction. The fact that there is distorted legislation which gives unfair advantage to the US over citizens' rights in the UK, in my view and in the view of many people, including a list of trade unionists who wrote to The Irish Times two days ago, puts a very different interpretation on all of this.

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