Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

Will the Minister clarify the statement issued in August that the Government would consider the application of this Bill with regard to whether the Colombia three could serve their sentences here? Can the Minister provide an outline of the Government's position on that issue and tell me whether the provision under discussion covers such a situation?

Last August, when Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley fled to Ireland from Colombia after being found guilty of serious offences, the Tánaiste said the Government was considering whether the three men could serve their sentences in Ireland if extradition proceedings proved unsuccessful and mentioned this Bill as a possible means to address the issue. In many respects, the Bill is tailor-made to do so because it provides for cases where a person has been sentenced in another country but absconds before completing the sentence and returns to his or her native country. I accept this is a Bill that arises from a Council of Europe convention and a protocol to that convention. Given that the Tánaiste raised this issue on behalf of the Government as a possible way for dealing with those gentlemen, will the Minister indicate what progress has been made from that point of view in the context of this Bill? Have discussions taken place with the parties in Colombia on the possible adoption by Colombia of the provisions arising under this convention? I take it that when the Tánaiste raised this issue she had that in mind. She said at the time that she noted that Colombia was not a party to the relevant Council of Europe convention and, therefore, not a party to the additional protocol. She mentioned that it would be open to Colombia to seek to become a party to them. I am not sure on what basis she made that statement at that time.

This Bill will have little enough application in general circumstances and in some respects it is tailor-made for dealing with this situation where people have absconded, having been found guilty of serious crimes in another country, returned here and are sitting here, as it were, waiting for the Government to complete its deliberations and any discussions in which it may be engaged with the Government of Colombia. I and my party want to see this issue resolved. It is an appropriate time to raise it now and it is appropriate that the Minister should advise the House as to whether this Bill might provide an answer to that problem and a means by which the Colombia three could be dealt with here and serve their sentences here under the terms of this Bill.

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