Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The same issue runs throughout all of these amendments. It is not with a view to promoting delay or anything like that. The Minister of State is absolutely right that these things need to be done expeditiously. We have to remember that in the context of the surrender of a person, it is often a hugely traumatic event for that person. Very often we are dealing with somebody who might have been in this jurisdiction for a decade or even 20 years. The person might have been living here, have married here and have a family here and to be uprooted out of that would be hugely disruptive to them. They might be working here. I myself have dealt in the courts with a number of people who have established lives here, have perfectly functional jobs and may have to return to another country to face what in the scheme of things is a relatively minor matter. The disruption that comes with that is huge, in particular a custodial removal where the person is denied bail here and then surrendered in custody to the issuing authority.

I agree entirely with the need for expedition in relation to this matter. These things should not take long. The reality is sometimes they do, in particular when the respondents to the action fight it, essentially and, by extension, delay it for whatever reason. My concern is that the inclusion of the term "without delay" might have other unseen consequences in terms of points of objection that might be raised by a respondent, for example, against a judicial authority that might be seen to have exercised some delay even where there is a legitimate explanation for that delay for whatever reason it might be.

I again accept the bona fides of the Minister of State on this point. Undoubtedly, his officials who are behind him know a great deal more about this than I do, so I will keep my powder dry.