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

I imagine the Deputy will be familiar with the O'Farrell, Rafferty and McDonald case. In July 2016, the Supreme Court made a determination in the case and dismissed the State's appeal. I will not go into the details because I do not have time. However, to answer Deputy Pringle's question, in September 2014, the High Court ordered the men to be released after finding that it could not retrospectively adapt, so as to achieve compatibility with Irish law, the warrants detaining the men here following their transfer from English prisons in 2006. My Department is considering the implications, legal and administrative, of the judgment of the Supreme Court. Pending the conclusion of these considerations, which may well indicate a need for legislative change, applications from prisoners abroad are currently on hold.

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