Éamon Ó Cuív criticises 10-year delay on prisoner transfer law
Éamon Ó Cuív addressed a parliamentary debate on the implementation of a 2011 EU Directive on prisoner transfers, criticising a decade-long delay and the State's failure to implement the law. He argued the bill as published fails to cover the United Kingdom after Brexit and demanded guaranteed committee-stage amendments.
Delayed implementation and legal criticism
He said the Directive was passed on 5 December 2011 but remained unimplemented in 2021, noting the European Commission had referred Ireland to the European Court for non-implementation. He called it unjustifiable for the State to agree Directives and then not follow the letter of the law.
Scope and Brexit gap
He observed the published bill does not cover the United Kingdom, now outside the EU, and warned that the UK dominates as the destination for Irish prisoners abroad. He criticised the practice of leaving key Brexit-related changes to late-stage amendments and insisted any changes be made at committee stage.
Statistics and transfer history
He cited figures that 1,100 Irish citizens are imprisoned abroad in 30 countries and that, over 25 years, 459 of 563 transfer applications came from prisoners in the UK. He also said earlier legislation and court cases meant very few transfers were likely under the previous arrangements.
Humanitarian rationale and family impact
He framed prisoner transfer policy as humanitarian and rehabilitative, arguing that serving sentences at home aids reintegration. He highlighted the heavy burden on families who travel long distances to visit prisoners and quoted the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on better rehabilitation outcomes when sentences are served in the home country.
Opposition to forced transfers and questions on Northern Ireland
He raised concern about a new provision allowing transfers against a prisoner's will and said he favoured the old rule that forbade involuntary transfers. He sought clarification on whether those serving sentences in Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens could apply to transfer to serve sentences in the state.
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I have to say that I find it utterly wrong, unjustifiable, that this particular Directive was passed in Europe on the 5th of the 12th of 2011 and we are now in 2021. Ten years later having been prodded by the European Commission by way of referring Ireland to the European Court for not implementing this Directive. I cannot understand the reason or the logic of our representatives going over to the European Union agreeing Directives if they have no intention of implementing them again. Maybe we agree to many Directives, but if you do agree you should then follow the letter of the law. I am particularly hard when the State does not follow the law, we expect citizens to follow the law, we bring them to court for not following the law. It is totally unjustifiable when the State itself does not comply with its legal obligations. I have seen and heard no justification. We do know there was previous legislation and I will come to that in more detail. But we also know that because of various court cases and so on, very few people were going to get transferred. It is important to note that there are 1,100 Irish people imprisoned abroad in 30 countries. However, one country dominates above all else. And that is our nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom. And after all the years waiting as this bill is published, the reality is that it does not cover the United Kingdom, which is no longer a member of the European Union. Now, I do understand there has been a commitment made to introduce amendments at committee stage. I find that unacceptable as a practice because there was 10 years to get this right. There was three years to deal with the Brexit issue. And in the 25 years since this legislation came in, 459 of the applications out of a total of 563 came from prisoners in the UK. And Minister, I therefore have to say that we would want to be absolutely cast-iron guaranteed that we will see these amendments. And that we will see them at committee stage and not at report stage. And another question that you might clarify in this regard. Since jurisdictionally Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, will people serving sentences in the North be able to apply for transfer to serve their sentences down here? Because I know a number of people who are desirous of doing so and who are Irish citizens. And will that apply to all Irish citizens, irrespective of where they are from on the island? Now, I have heard a lot about prisoners. And there are various types of prisoners. And the more you go into prisons, you will see that prisoners are as varied as society is. Yes, you have got the huge drug barons who are multi-national operations going. I would say if you did a census of the prison population, you would find that they are actually a small minority. You have prisoners in for all sorts of reasons. You have some prisoners there for something that was wrong, that obviously caused a conviction, but where re-offending is unlikely. But there is one thing I am certain of, and that is that all prisoners are entitled to human rights, good prison treatment. But also we know that the better the system, the better the treatment, the better the support in the prisons, the more likely it is that when people come out they reintegrate peacefully into society. And we have to understand that the rationale for this is humanitarian and rehabilitative. And one thing that always strikes me, dealing with prisoners, is first of all, the huge burden put on families, parents, partners, spouses, children. And I see this all the time. And I have to say that another thing I find very, very edifying is the huge effort that families make, many times travelling long distances, even within the country, to go on visits, some of which can be quite short. And therefore, never forget when somebody gets sentenced to prison, in virtually all cases, it also has a huge effect on family members. And that we rely more than we do on the prison system, in a strange way. And even people involved in the prison system have said this to me, that people in a stable relationship, for example, are much less likely to re-offend than those who are not. And therefore, we are actually relying hugely on these family members as part of the rehabilitative process. And therefore, if you have family members serving prison sentences abroad, you can imagine the cost and the burden on the family members who have committed no crime or are guilty of nothing, in trying to visit people in trying to visit people in their own families. According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, all things being equal, sentenced persons who served their sentences in their home countries can be rehabilitated, re-socialised and re-integrated into the community better than elsewhere. So the objective evidence is that giving people this option is a good idea. Finally, Minister, I understand in this bill that there is a new principle and that is part of the directive, and that is that people can be sent home against their will. I have to say that I did favour the old arrangement where you could not be transferred against your will. And it is something I will certainly be following up again at the later stages of this bill. of this bit.
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