Autumn Newsletter 2011

ICPO NEWS Issue Number 63 Published by the Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas Autumn 2011 Transfer of Sentenced Persons in the EU New EU legislation which will allow the transfer the sentence was imposed they must be given of sentenced prisoners from one country to the opportunity to state their opinion on the another is due to be implemented by all Mem- transfer, either orally or in writing, and this ber States by 5 December this year. opinion must be taken into account in making a decision. The aim of the legislation is to facilitate the social rehabilitation and reintegration of sen- In general a prisoner's consent to the transfer tenced persons by sending them to their own must be obtained, but there are three situa- country to serve out their sentence or to an- tions in which their consent will not be required: other country which agrees to the transfer. If the transfer is to their country of nation- When deciding if the transfer would achieve ality in which they live; social rehabilitation a number of elements will be taken into account, such as, the person‘s If the transfer is to the country to which attachment to the country to which they are they will be deported once released; being transferred. Continued on Page 3 If the prisoner is still in the country in which ICPO London Stepping out Some members of staff from the London office of ICPO doing a sponsored walk in Co. Mayo. The ICPO It is estimated that at any one time, there are up to 1,000 Irish people in prison overseas. The ICPO has contact with Irish Hello, my name is Joanna people in prisons in more than twenty countries, the majority Joyce. I have recently of whom are in the UK followed by the US, Australia and a range of countries in Europe, South and Central America and taken over from Brian the Far East. Hanley as Coordinator of The Irish Council for Prisoners Overseas (ICPO) was estab- the ICPO. During his two lished by the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in 1985, in and a half years with the response to serious concerns regarding the number of Irish men and women in UK prisons. These deeply held concerns organisation Brian demon- related to their trials and subsequent imprisonments. strated incredible dedica- In recent years the ICPO has been able to offer a more com- tion to the work of the prehensive service to prisoners and to expand our existing services to prisoners’ families. Currently the ICPO works for ICPO. He worked tireless- all Irish prisoners wherever they are: it makes no distinction ly in the best interests of the clients of the ICPO and in terms of religious faith, the nature of the prison conviction, or of a prisoner’s status. achieved a huge amount. I will try to serve you with the same level of commitment and understanding as he did. I The objectives of the ICPO are to: would like to thank all the staff in Maynooth and London for Identify and respond to the needs of Irish prisoners abroad, and their families making me feel so welcome. I am very excited to be a part Research and provide relevant information to prisoners of the great work being done by the ICPO. I would also like on issues such as deportation, repatriation and transfer to take this opportunity to welcome back Breda Power who Focus public attention on issues affecting Irish prisoners has returned to the London office as the London prisons (ill-treatment, racist abuse, etc) visitor/caseworker. Engage in practical work in aid of justice and human rights for Irish migrants, refugees and prisoners at an interna- In this edition of the newsletter our cover article examines tional level new EU legislation which will allow for the transfer of sen- Visit Irish prisoners abroad where possible both in the tenced persons between EU countries. This article intro- UK and elsewhere. duces the legislation and we hope to follow it up with anoth- STAFF er piece once the legislation has been implemented and the Maynooth practical effects become clear. Joanna Joyce, Catherine Jackson, Sr. Anne Sheehy London Fr Gerry McFlynn, Liz Power, Breda Power, Declan Ganly, Conn Mac Gabhann has provided an interesting account of Russel Harland the launch of the Travellers in Prison Report at the UK Volunteers Houses of Parliament on Monday 13th June 2011. The report Maynooth: Sr. Agnes Hunt, Eileen Boyle , Joan O’Cléirigh, Sr. Mary Whyte included some very important findings and recommenda- London Volunteers and UK Prison Visitors: Sr. Maureen tions, which are summarised in this article. McNally, Sara Thompson, Sr Agnes Miller, Kathleen Walsh, Rev Stephen McKenna Congratulations to Paul Greenan and M.C., prize-winners in ICPO is a registered charity with covenanted tax status under its parent body the IECE. UK: 280742 Ireland: 8503 the Prisoners Overseas Short Story and Poetry Writing competitions respectively at the Listowel Writers Festival. Views expressed in ‘ICPO News’ are the author’s own and not necessarily those of the ICPO The standard was very high this year and thanks to all those who entered. Applications for next year‘s competition How we may be contacted: will be sent out with our Christmas supplement. Thanks also ICPO, Columba Centre Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland to everyone who contributed to our Postbag and Poetry pag- Tel: 01-505-3156 Fax: 01-629-2363 es. Please keep your contributions coming in! Email: [email protected] ICPO, 50-52 Camden Square I would like to thank the regular contributors to ICPO London NW1 9XB Tel: 0207-482-4148 Fax: 0207-482-4815 News- Mícheál O‘Cearbhaill, author of ‗Smídín Gaeilge‘, and Email: [email protected] Eoin O‘Mahony, author of the sports update. We are very Material on these pages are copyright © the Irish Council for grateful for all their hard work. Prisoners Overseas or reproduced with permission from the copyright owner. It is not permitted to reproduce, republish, redistribute or resell, in all or in part, any material from this Finally, I would like to thank the ICPO staff and volunteers newsletter without the written permission of the editor. for the fantastic work they did in putting this newsletter The ICPO is greatly indebted to its funders for their generous together. support. Joanna Joyce Coordinator 2 Transfer of Sentenced Persons Continued from Front Page If the transfer is to the country to sentence can make a decision on an applica- which they have fled or returned while tion to review the original judgment. criminal proceedings are pending or fol- lowing conviction. In Ireland work in relation to the implemen- tation of this legislation is on going and it will The transfer process can be initiated by the most likely be next year before the legisla- country in which the sentence was handed tion is implemented into Irish law. down or by the country to which the person will be transferred. It is not yet clear how many people are likely to be transferred under this new legislation. Prisoners can request the country they are ICPO will continue to monitor the implemen- in, or the country to which they want to be tation of this legislation and we will keep you transferred, to start the transfer process, informed of developments in future newslet- but this will not place an obligation on the ters. country to do so. They also must be informed, in a language they understand, that Supervision of Probation Measures transfer proceedings have been started. Another piece of EU legislation must be im- The country to which they will be trans- plemented by EU countries by the 6th of De- ferred will have a maximum of 90 days to december 2011. This legislation sets out the cide if it will accept the transfer. The trans- rules according to which EU countries can fer can only be rejected on specific grounds supervise probation measures imposed by that are set out in the legislation. For exam- another country. It allows one country to ple, it can be rejected if the sentence relates send a probation decision to another country to an act that would not be an offence in the in which the person is lawfully and ordinarily country to which the person is to be trans- residing, and to which that person has re- ferred or if the person would have immunity turned or wants to return. under the law of that country which would make it impossible to enforce the sentence. The probation measure or probation period If the country agrees to the transfer the may be changed, but cannot be made more sentenced person must be transferred within severe or longer than the measure or period 30 days. originally imposed. The country to which the probation decision is sent must decide within If the original sentence imposed is incompat- 60 days whether to recognise the probation ible with the law of the country to which the decision and take responsibility for supervis- person is transferred then the sentence may ing the probation measure. be changed. But the new sentence cannot be longer or more severe than the original sen- It is not yet clear how these rules will oper- tence. ate in practice. We will keep you updated on the progress of this legislation. The legislation provides that both the country in which the sentence was passed and the country to which the person has been trans- Joanna Joyce ferred can grant an amnesty or a pardon. ICPO Coordinator However, only the country which passed the 3 Travellers in Prison Report The Irish Chaplaincy in heard in society, and particularly in prison.

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