Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation, which is long overdue. It seems that every time we have a debate on European legislation, I can use a copy-and-paste paragraph about the flagrant disregard for the need to transpose European framework decisions in a timely manner. It is 13 years since this framework decision was written and ten since the deadline for transposing it passed, yet here we are in 2021 with formal proceedings being taken against Ireland in the Court of Justice of the European Union, a domestic action before the Court of Appeal and Ireland facing the possibility of no longer being able to participate in the Schengen Information System should this legislation not be enacted by the year's end.

We need to know why this is constantly happening. It is not that it can be postponed forever; it has to be done. Is it an issue of staffing or of Ireland not being in support of a particular directive? We need to have some understanding of what is in the queue and why we are constantly seeing these delays. We are seeing this over and over again. The Minister of State might indicate in his response what the delay is and if there are other pieces in the queue in within his particular department. Several Deputies have expressed repeated concern about this.

This legislation ultimately makes it easier for a person to serve a custodial sentence imposed in another EU country in their country of residence, with the aim of enhancing the prospects of a person's rehabilitation. It is welcome that the ICPO supports this legislation. I hope the Minister will listen to its call for a well-resourced, transparent and fair expeditious repatriation system, which needs to be put in place. The legislation alone will not address all of the outstanding issues with repatriation. It will be completely insufficient if the system is not created and resourced.

ICPO estimates that 1,200 Irish people are serving sentences abroad in approximately 30 countries. Many of these people serving sentences overseas are doing so away from their families, sometimes facing language barriers, in an unfamiliar justice system and with an uncertain future upon their release. The importance of connection to family in the context of rehabilitation and the need for a rehabilitation programme to be put in place in advance of release of a prisoner has been stated on numerous occasions. I concur with the points that have been made in regard to families also serving a type of sentence, particularly where there are children involved. Generally, if it is safe for them to do so - on occasion it is not - children should have the right to know their parent. That is a particular difficulty in this case.

Last year, ICPO conducted a survey. Essentially, Covid exacerbated the problems. A total of 60% of respondents reported experiencing mental health difficulties while in prison, with a significant decline in conditions noted during the pandemic. The lack of visitor access and lengthy lockdowns are a significant problem. We should acknowledge that there are some good examples of how the Prison Service here dealt with Covid, which was a collaboration between prisoners and prison staff. More than 40% of the respondents to the survey did not have plans for after their release, which highlights the difficulties of this particular group of prisoners when it comes to rehabilitation and resettlement services.

Many of the services available in Ireland cannot be accessed by prisoners overseas. People are left adrift once released without vital support services that are needed both during and after their time in prison. As has been said, a variety of sentences are being served and there is a variety of prisoner types, with many of them, probably, on the lower end. It is Government and EU policy that, where possible, people should be permitted to serve their sentence in the country they call home, close to their support networks and with the best chance of rehabilitation.

While Covid undoubtedly resulted in reduced standards for prisoners surveyed, no inward prisoner transfers to the State were conducted last year. Deputy Howlin stated there have been none in the past five years. I had wondered if it was just Covid that had impacted them. It is important that the Minister of State when replying tells us about the 1,200 people who are currently serving their sentences abroad. For example, have people applied to transfer, how many requested a transfer in the past year or within the past five years, and for what reasons might those requests not have been accommodated? Will the Minister of State provide data in respect of transfer requests?

It is a welcome feature of this legislation that there are provisions to refuse a request to transfer a sentenced prisoner where there is a belief that he or she might face prejudice due to sex, race, religion, ethic origin, nationality, language, political opinion or sexual orientation. There are, however, a number of classes protected under our equality legislation that are not recognised here and should be added, namely, gender identity, disability, civil status, family status and age. While the legislation does adhere to Article 6 of the Treaty on the European Union and the human rights obligations stated within it, we can never be complacent about our responsibilities to protect individuals from discrimination within the EU. The EU has long had a poor record when it comes to sanctioning member states for breaches of the treaty and of human rights. It very much leaves this to the individual jurisdiction. The actions of certain countries over the past few years, that is, Hungary and Poland, have raised particular human rights concerns. Women's rights, freedom of expression, judicial independence and the rights of the LGBT community have been under attack in these jurisdictions for some time now. Recently, Hungary passed a law outlawing the distribution of content that is deemed to portray or promote LGBT people to minors. This follows legislation enacted last year which made it impossible for trans and intersex people in Hungary to legally change their gender, an action which further emphasises our need to include gender identity within the list of protected classes under this legislation. It is welcome to see the EU begin a substantive action against Poland and Hungary, with threats of daily fines and withheld payments due to these rule of law violations. We need to use all tools at our disposal to protect human rights and the rule of law within the EU. Any rogue member state should, of course, face sanction.

I hope that we take our responsibility to ensure the well-being of any sentenced person in this country seriously and that the Minister will not be hesitant to refuse repatriation on human rights grounds to other member states regardless of the political fallout that might occur. I also want to refer briefly to the case of Richard O'Halloran who is convicted of no crime and is being denied the right to come home and of access to his family, in particular his children. He has missed key moments in their lives and is still facing, two years on, a great deal of uncertainty. There is a high level of public concern about that. I encourage any and all efforts that can be made to make sure that is remedied without further delay.

See this speech in context