Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to refer to the European arrest warrant. I raised this issue on Second Stage. Will the Minister for Justice confirm that the European Commission has issued Ireland a legal warning over delays in extraditing criminal suspects? It is my understanding that suspects wanted in other EU states should be extradited within two to three months. In 2019, 59 suspects were not extradited within the required timeframe. The explanation for this could be that the Garda needs more resources for extradition cases or the High Court is delaying in dealing with the applications.

I will agree to this section. It is necessary if we are to put in place new arrangements to deal with extraditions to the UK in the context of Brexit. Will the Minister confirm whether Ireland has been warned by the European Commission? Is she concerned about it? What will the Department of Justice do about it?

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