Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We are constrained by the convention in this matter. Senator Terry has raised a very interesting issue. In the international agreement we are dealing with, the six month threshold as set out in Article 3.1.d of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons 1983, which is the parent convention, and the additional protocol in the Schengen provisions must be read in conjunction with that parent convention. For that reason the six month threshold in the 1983 convention has been included in this Bill. In the light of our international understanding and agreement, it was not open to us to legislate as Senator Terry wished. I appreciate the point she made.

We are dealing with requests from other states for the return of persons located here and under the legislation the position is that either the sentence must have been more than six months or there must be at least six months left to serve. The furthest the Minister can go to meet the point raised by Senator Terry under the convention is contained in section 5(3) which states:

The Minister may, in relation to a person—

(a) sentenced to less than 6 months imprisonment, or

(b) who has less than 6 months remaining to serve of a sentence,

make a request under subsection (1), if he or she considers that exceptional circumstances exist which warrant the person serving the sentence or remainder of the sentence, as the case may be, in the designated country concerned.

It is permitted under the legislation in exceptional circumstances but that is the furthest we can go in this area. Otherwise, our hands are tied by the international instrument.