Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister indicated he did not wish to comment on particular cases because processes are ongoing. The people to whom we refer have been denied due process. They fit the criteria of people who have been interned. They are in prison but there is no charge against them. They have not been questioned by the PSNI. I do not know how the Minister cannot call that internment, because that is exactly what it is.

Martin Corey has been in prison for more than three and half years. He still has not been questioned by the PSNI or told why he is in prison. His legal team, whom we met, cannot get any answers. That, to me, is internment. He should have been entitled to a parole hearing more than a year ago but he is still waiting. He was in court in Ballymena last Friday. The court hearing was to begin at 10 a.m. but it did not start because he could not be brought from the prison in time. He arrived at 10.40 a.m. – a 63-year-old man in handcuffs accompanied by two prison officers. It was then decided that he was still a security risk so the hearing was delayed until more officers could attend. The hearing eventually took place at 12 noon. The closed hearing continued until 4 p.m. and he is due to return to the court next Friday. That is not due process and it is not legal. It undermines the Good Friday Agreement, the Weston Park Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement. That is the basis of our concern.

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