Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

It was stated that the effect of the legislation is likely to be a small increase in the number of prisoners in Irish jails. I am not sure if that is right or wrong. Perhaps the Minister could tell us how many persons will be returned home to serve sentences in Irish jails. That would create difficulties as there is an accommodation problem in our prison system, which has been debated on many occasions. If the Minister is not talking about closing prisons and prison spaces, he is usually in the middle of a row with prison officers. That issue must be resolved. There is little point in the Minister trying to pass such legislation to allow people to serve sentences here unless prison spaces are available. That issue is central to the legislation. Perhaps the Minister of State might outline the current position, although I appreciate he may not have the relevant figures with him this afternoon. Prison accommodation is an important political issue. We have had more questions than answers on this subject.

The Bill may have few sections and pages, but it is important and it is part of the increasing domestic and international fight against crime. Some of the crimes covered under this legislation may be minor, while others may be major and involve major criminals. We must take that seriously. It shows our maturity as a State and Parliament that we can have such a debate without being as emotional as we may have been five, ten or 15 years ago. The Minister of State will recall that when we tried to make legislative progress on extradition in the 1980s, it was a bridge too far for many people. It was almost a no-go area for different political reasons. Yet it had to be tackled and that was done successfully.

This legislation is similar in that we are talking about Irish people serving sentences outside the country or foreign nationals serving sentences here. It requires co-operation between the various member states and it is good we have that in the fight against crime, whether at home or abroad. We must work together because a crime committed in Ireland, Britain or France is a crime against the citizens of the European Union and against humanity. The fight must be fought with vigour in all the countries which sign up to this agreement. We must fully support this legislation.

Europe is influencing what we are doing this afternoon and it has influenced most of the legislation from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform over the past decade. Such European and international influence will continue and increase as a result of the 11 September atrocities. It was good that last week the European Union countries, led by the Taoiseach, came together in a strong show of support for the battle against crime, criminals and terrorism. We did not think that was necessary in the past. However, it is important that we all work together.

For this legislation to be a success, we must ensure the issue of prison accommodation is resolved and that the maximum number of countries sign up to it. While we can call on our colleagues across Europe and elsewhere to put this in place, we are probably not the best people to preach in that regard because there have been too many delays in signing up to some international agreements to which we have been committed. The Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Bill 2002, for example, has not yet been enacted. I had hoped the Minister would be here to comment on that, but perhaps the Minister of State might indicate why there has been a delay in enacting that legislation and when it will be enacted. I have been told that it was due to implement six or seven conventions, some of which date back to the 1970s. It is important that such a Bill is enacted at the earliest possible date.

It is not good that conventions which date back almost 30 years are not implemented. We should try to progress that. We must ensure that when we call on other Parliaments and Governments to put this legislation in place that we are willing to implement international conventions. I have also been advised that some aspects of this Bill relate to agreements made in 1985 and 1990. While it may be slightly acceptable that we did not deal with agreements made in 1990, it is not right that we are trying to put in place something which dates back to 1985. That shows we have not always had our eye firmly on the ball and we must improve in that regard.

I referred to the prison system. I have one or two queries about the Minister of State's speech and the Bill. As regards a person sentenced by an Irish court who has fled from the State back to his or her state of nationality, we may request the authorities in that state to enforce the Irish sentence. What are our options in that regard when a person flees to a state which is not his or her state of nationality, but which has signed up to the convention? Is it to seek extradition? With regard to all the countries that have signed up to this agreement, is it only when a person returns to their native state that we can call on that state to enforce the sentence? What if the person flees to a third state which is not the person's native state but which has signed up to the agreement? Perhaps the Minister will advise on what can be done in such cases.