Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be aware that the current law on the transfer of prisoners is set out in the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 and 1997 and in the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Act 2005. These give effect to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons made in Strasbourg on 21 March 1983 and its additional protocol.

Subsequent to these enactments an EU framework decision addressing prisoner transfers within the European Union has been adopted. A Bill to enable the transposition of this instrument into Irish law is being drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government. One of the main effects of the framework decision is that it removes, in some well-defined circumstances, the requirement that a person must consent to the transfer.

When drafting of the Bill has been completed and subject to Government approval, the Bill will be published. This work is ongoing and I expect it will be later this year when we get to the point where we are in a position to publish the Bill.

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