Ivor Callely (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their contributions. I have taken note of the comments made, and the Department officials who are here have taken detailed notes. I am sure my ministerial colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, will give those remarks careful consideration.

I remind the House of some of the essential features of the Bill and the arrangements it introduces. Enactment of the Bill will enable Ireland to accede to the additional protocol to the 1983 Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. It will also enable Ireland to operate part of the Schengen convention package that we have already opted into. The arrangements covered by this Bill are intended to assist in the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners who have been sentenced abroad while also ensuring the sentence is served. The person's rehabilitation and reintegration will be facilitated by allowing the person to serve the sentence in his or her home state closer to family, as some of the contributors have indicated, and without language and other such difficulties.

The Bill will also ensure we have an alternative to extradition. Currently where a person flees from the sentencing state to his or her home state the sentencing state has just one option if it wishes to ensure the sentence is served, namely extradition. This is one of the issues Senator Kett raised. Once the Bill is enacted it will be possible for the sentencing state to rely on an additional option that the person should serve the sentence in the home state. That is a significant benefit to the sentenced person while also ensuring the sentence is served.

A number of comments were made. Senator Bradford referred to the number of prisoners transferred to and from the State under the 1983 convention and the 1995 Act. According to the latest available figures, which include up to 29 March, 100 prisoners have been transferred into the State, 57 have been transferred out of the State, 260 applications for transfers have been received by the State, and 175 applications have been made for transfers out of the State. It is not possible to say how many extra prison places will arise or how many prisoners will present under this Bill but it is expected the number of prisoners may be small. I will ask Department officials to write to the Senator with this information rather than try and gather it all today. Extradition arrangements apply if a person goes to a state other than that of his or her nationality, including those within the European arrest warrant system. The Minister will withhold consent on public policy grounds.

The Senator might mention that to the Taoiseach if he thinks I am a suitable candidate. I would be very happy to accept the challenge. I thank the Senator for his kind comment.

I covered Senator Feeney's points in my remarks. I thank Senator Kett for his kind comment. We soldiered together on several issues in Dublin City Council for many years and I appreciate and welcome his frequent advice on various matters. In response to his question about the Schengen agreement, all EU states plus Norway and Iceland are included. We have agreed to join some parts of the agreement but not the abolition of border controls, that is, the free travel areas between Ireland and the UK to which the Senator referred. There may be some costs due to small increases in prison numbers but we have not done the calculations. The sentence period cannot be longer than the maximum available under Irish law. Generally the sentences as imposed will be served here.

If I do not have time to answer all of Senator Tuffy's questions in detail I will ask the officials to write to her. The court will decide if offences correspond. I will check whether there are precedents for provisional arrest warrants. The Senator posed several questions that warrant a full and detailed response and I will ensure a response is forwarded to her. The same applies to the other Senators.

There are several safeguards in the Bill that are significant and substantial. I am pleased to commend the Bill to the House and thank Senators for their very positive contributions.