Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many citizens of the Irish Republic sentenced to prison in the UK are permitted to serve their sentence in the Republic.

At 31 December 2016, there were 746 Irish citizens detained in England and Wales in prisons and in the NOMS run Immigration Removal Centres.

The United Kingdom and Ireland are signatories to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The Convention provides for the voluntary transfer of an individual. It is open to any Irish national serving a sentence of imprisonment to apply for transfer.

The transfer of prisoners from Scotland and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant devolved authority.