Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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One year ago today, a Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland hearing took place over four days. One part of it was an open hearing, during which Tony Taylor was questioned, and then there were two closed material hearings. A month later, the summary was delivered and Tony Taylor and his legal team were told that he would not be released. A core element of the justice system is the right for a person to know the case against him or her. With closed material, the defendant is at a severe disadvantage. A special advocate is appointed by the Parole Commissioners but this special advocate cannot discuss the case with Tony Taylor. That is not the first example of the injustice of the Parole Commissioners hearing. I refer to the case of Martin Corey, whose licence was also revoked. He ended up in jail and eventually got a Parole Commissioners hearing. Four years later, he was released from jail with no charge and no trial. There is also the manner in which Tony Taylor's licence was revoked. He was surrounded by armed personnel in front of his family. One of his children is a child with special physical and mental difficulties. After over 800 days, Tony Taylor is still in jail and there does not appear to be any way in which he can be released unless there is some proper intervention in the interest of justice.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I dtosach báire glacaim buíochas leis an Tánaiste as ucht teacht isteach go pearsanta anseo. I thank the Tánaiste for coming in. He is aware of this case. To summarise it on the public record, as Deputy O'Sullivan has said, Tony Taylor is in prison following a revocation of licence. The problem with all of this procedure is that the person whose licence is revoked in the closed procedure never finds out the detail of what is alleged against him or her, nor is there a chance to answer the charges in detail.

It is all carried out in a closed system. There had been hope recently that another hearing would take place in the coming months. but I understand it has been deferred for six months by the Secretary of State. The matter must be expedited and a further hearing held in order that Tony Taylor can be released. As the Tánaiste is aware, the group to which he belonged announced a total cessation of violence on 23 January. We must build on it. We must build peace and get action in this case.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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There is no doubt that this is an outrage and a gross violation of human rights. I recall the testimony given to the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement by Ms Lorraine Taylor, wife of Tony Taylor, on the devastating impact the swoop operation which picked up Mr. Taylor over two years ago had had on their family. He was taken into custody on the vague assertion of the Northern Ireland Office that he was a risk to the public. That claim has not been verified by a court, but he is still incarcerated two years later and no evidence has been presented to him. This is internment by another name and utterly shocking. It is a fundamental right of a democratic justice system that an accused should know the case against him or her. If this was happening anywhere else, we would be up in arms giving out about it. This gross violation of human rights is happening on this island and we must intervene to ensure there will be an early hearing and that this man will be allowed to go back to his family.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The arrest of Tony Taylor on the revocation of his licence in March 2016 was unlawful and did not conform to Article 28(2)(a) or (2)(b) of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. Detention in the absence of lawful authority is contrary to Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This incarceration does not make any sense. It is not positive for Northern Ireland and not building peace. Putting people such as Tony Taylor in prison for no good reason, not charging him and leaving him in limbo is not the way forward. One could be forgiven for suspecting that some people may have a vested interest in the Troubles continuing because this matter is not helping those who are trying to maintain peace.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. My officials and I have been following and engaging on this matter on an ongoing basis.

Mr. Taylor who is from Derry was a member of a dissident republican group in recent years. In 1994 he was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he had been seriously injured in a premature explosion in Derry. He was released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. He served a further three-year sentence from 2011 to 2014 for the possession of a rifle. In March 2016 he was returned to prison after his early release licence was suspended by the then Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers.

As I have indicated previously to Deputies, Mr. Taylor’s case has been discussed regularly with the Northern Ireland Office through my officials at the Belfast secretariat. My officials have twice visited Mr. Taylor in Maghaberry Prison, most recently in the past few weeks.

The Northern Ireland parole commissioners held a parole hearing in May 2017 on Tony Taylor’s revocation of licence. The decision reached at the hearing was to continue the revocation of licence. A further review by the parole commissioners is under way and there was an expectation that it would conclude in the coming weeks. We understand from discussions with the Northern Ireland Office and Mr. Taylor’s legal representatives that there may be a delay in that process, as referred to by Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív.

I am aware that Mr. Taylor has publicly renounced any future engagement in dissident republican activity. I have received a letter from his wife, Lorraine, and I am aware of their difficult family circumstances. I am also aware that there is a level of concern in the nationalist and republican community in Northern Ireland about the basis for and nature of Mr. Taylor’s ongoing detention. They have all been reflected in our ongoing engagement with the Northern Ireland Office on the matter. The recent indication that Mr. Taylor’s new parole hearing may take much longer than expected is of particular concern as he has now been in detention for over two years without being charged with or convicted of any new offence.

My officials and I will continue to monitor developments in the case and raise it with the Northern Ireland Office. I will write to the Secretary of State, Ms Karen Bradley, about the case and will raise it when I meet her in London tomorrow. There are legal sensitivities of which we must be aware, but I understand the growing concern about this matter. Having been in Derry last week, I appreciate how it is contributing negatively to community tensions in an unwelcome way.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. It is welcome that he will raise the issue with the Secretary of State tomorrow. The injustice of the treatment of Tony Taylor is undermining the Good Friday Agreement. I want to believe there is a fair and just system and due process in Northern Ireland, but it is not being followed in his case. It seems that delays are in the DNA of the parole commissioners because they were previously encountered in the case of Martin Corey, as I mentioned. The decision to revoke Tony Taylor's licence was taken by the then Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers. She has admitted that it was illegal, but he is still in jail. It is a terrible injustice for him, his family and, in particular, the son for whom he was the prime carer. I hope there will be a resolution of the case and that we will not accept the parole commissioners stating there will be another delay.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his succinct answer. Certain issues are within the control of the political system in Northern Ireland. One is the closed and unjust system under which a licence is revoked and one does not know the charges one faces and is not present for the inquiry.

A second issue is administrative delay. The Tánaiste was correct when he stated the hearing was expected to take place in the coming weeks, with which we were willing to go along. As he is aware, there should be no fear of releasing this man. The Tánaiste has recognised that Mr. Taylor has stated he will not be involved in sectarian activities. We also have the statement from the organisation to which he belonged. This is not building peace, rather it is doing the opposite.

I have written countless times on behalf of a group of Deputies to the former Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers, and the current Secretary of State, Ms Karen Bradley, on the case and requested a meeting with the latter for four Deputies in this House. Will the Tánaiste convey to her our disgust that a Secretary of State does not see fit to meet representatives of the Oireachtas in reasonable time when they request a meeting to discuss a serious matter. I hope that if British MPs wished to meet the Tánaiste, he would immediately give them that courtesy. I have no doubt that he would.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. There is a strange irony in the similarity of the cases of Tony Taylor and Ibrahim Halawa. People were justifiably outraged by occurrences in the latter case such as court dates being cancelled, the accused having no clue as to the charges against him and both he and his legal team being left in the dark. That is exactly what is happening on this island to Tony Taylor and his legal representatives. It is setting an incredibly worrying precedent which is adding to political instability in Northern Ireland at a time when some dissident groups have renounced violence and committed to peace. It is undermining that process. It is the continuance of a non-transparent quasi-judicial legal system which involves gross violations of human rights and should be consigned to history.

4 o’clock

I am glad the Tánaiste notes the particular concern and I hope he will raise it, not just with the British authorities but also with his EU counterparts to try to make the British Government sees sense in terms of an early hearing on this issue.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I too welcome the Tánaiste's response. He showed a clear understanding of the problems, the challenges and the injustice. The notion that allegations of wrongdoing could not even be raised against someone and they had to spend over two years in prison is soul destroying. This is a human rights issue. As the Tánaiste is aware, we go to Maghaberry Prison regularly and it is a scene from hell. In a report published last year it was deemed one of the worst prisons in Europe. Just as some members of the republican side did not accept the Good Friday Agreement, unfortunately, some people on the other side did not accept it either. While there has been huge reform in certain areas in Northern Ireland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, PSNI, is a serious improvement on the RUC, other areas in the prison service in Northern Ireland leave much to be desired. It would be welcome if the Tánaiste could challenge them on their irrational behaviour.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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It is important to say in the context of this debate that while there are genuine and real concerns about this case, I know that all in this House will agree there is no place for violence or the threat of violence in the pursuit of political aims in Northern Ireland or anywhere in this island. We again call on all those dissident republican groups which have not yet done so to renounce violence and to commit to exclusively democratic pursuit of political aims. I also pay tribute to the work of An Garda Síochána in dealing with ongoing activities and threats posed by dissident groups which have not committed to a peaceful way forward. It is important to say that.

I take the Deputy's concerns but there are issues here which clearly others believe are relevant in terms of the ongoing detention of Mr. Taylor. We will continue to raise the concerns that have been raised in this House. They are legitimate. I will be talking to the Secretary of State, Karen Bradley, tomorrow but I will put those concerns in writing also. Those conversations have taken place between my officials and officials in the Northern Ireland Office.

As I say, our approach will be to continue to monitor this case closely because the case, and the way in which it is handled, has broader repercussions in terms of the broader community in Derry. It needs to be handled sensitively and appropriately and we will engage, as we always do, with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and her team in that regard.