Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised the continued detention by the British authorities of a person (details suppied), who is a qualifying prisoner under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and the Weston Park Agreement; and if he has requested the immediate release of this person. [8958/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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This case has been brought to my attention and I understand that it is due to be examined by the Sentence Review Commissioners in Northern Ireland. That being the case, it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further. The issue of prisons within Northern Ireland is a devolved matter to the Northern Ireland Executive and, specifically, to the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, led by Minister David Ford, and the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

The various measures included in the package agreed at Weston Park in August 2001 addressed four issues to assist in the successful implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: policing, normalisation, the stability of the institutions and decommissioning.

Proposed draft legislation by the British Government to deal with this specific issue as referred to in paragraph 20 of the Weston Park accord was formally withdrawn by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain MP, on 11 January 2006. The draft legislation, the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill, had been opposed by the majority of the Northern Ireland Assembly parties and the Secretary of State was compelled to withdraw the legislation when the only supporting party, Sinn Féin, could not accept certain aspects of the proposed legislation. The Government remains committed to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.