asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make strong representations to the British authorities on humanitarian grounds about the question of allowing Irish citizens serving sentences for political offences in British prisons to be transferred to prisons in the Six Counties after they have served an appreciable portion of their sentences, thereby reducing the penal travelling costs for relatives visiting them.

There may be relatives who have been inconvenienced and have suffered financially from visiting Irish citizens committed to British prisons on conviction for serious criminal offences. However, the circumstances are not always the same. If the Deputy or anyone closely related to an Irish prisoner in Britain would like to send me details about any relevant case, I will take these and other circumstances into account in considering whether an approach to the British authorities on the question of a transfer to a prison in Northern Ireland would be appropriate.