Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 687: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person (details supplied) has not had his or her application for repatriation expedited; if it is true that the Home Office forwarded the necessary papers to his Department in September 2005; when the decision to repatriate will be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14846/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I can confirm that my Department received the formal application for transfer of the person concerned from the United Kingdom authorities in September 2005. Various reports were then sought and received by my Department from bodies in this jurisdiction. The application was reviewed by the State's legal officers in order to ensure that the requirements of the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts 1995 and 1997 were satisfied. Having received their advices in the matter, my Department has requested and is awaiting further supporting documentation from the UK authorities in respect of this application.

It should be noted that the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons requires extensive documentation to be exchanged between both jurisdictions in order to allow an application to be fully considered. A three-way consent is also required to enable any transfer to take place, namely, from the authorities of both jurisdictions and from the person concerned. On receipt of those consents, assuming they are forthcoming, an application must be made to the High Court for a warrant authorising the transfer of the person concerned and his or her continued detention here.

These procedures are required under the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Acts and must be adhered to in processing each application. I would expect, upon receipt of the documentation from the UK authorities and a review of same by the State's legal officers, to be in a position to make a decision on this application. I can assure the Deputy that every effort will be made to complete this process as quickly as possible.