Government welcomes Kelly transfer to Portlaoise

THE Government has welcomed the transfer of the IRA prisoner Patrick Kelly to Portlaoise Prison, saying the move would create a better atmosphere during the run up to all party talks next month.

Mr Kelly, who is suffering from skin cancer, was driven from Maghaberry prison, Co Antrim, to Belfast's Aldergrove Airport yesterday afternoon. There he was handed over to Irish prison officials and flown by Air Corps helicopter to Portlaoise, where he arrived at about 4 p.m.

Later, in a short statement, the department of Justice confirmed e transfer and said the remainder of Kelly's sentence would be enforced "in accordance with the laws and regulations which apply to sentenced persons in Ireland

The Department declined to answer any questions about the conditions in which Kelly would be held.

The British Home Office agreed to his repatriation last week after a campaign by politicians, north and south of the Border, and amid fears for the peace process if he died in a British jail. Already this year he been transferred from Whitemoor jail in England to Maghaherry.

Kelly (43), from Ballybrittas, Co Laois, was arrested in north London in November 1992 and a year later was sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to cause explosions and attempted murder. His trial at the Old Bailey heard how he had been driving a lorry bomb at the time of his arrest which would have caused huge property damage as well as injury and death.

He was already suffering skin cancer before going to prison and underwent his third major operation for cancer last March, when he had several cancerous lumps removed from his right armpit.

His transfer has been warmly welcomed by politicians and by his partner, Ms Angela Rice. Ms Rice, who last week said it could be months before the British government's agreement to the transfer took effect, said she hoped to visit him in Portlaoise this morning.

She also hoped his return would pave the way for the repatriation of all other Irish prisoners.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, said her Department was processing 109 further repatriation cases from Britain, about 30 of whom were republicans.

A spokesman for the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said the move had been sought for many months. It should further contribute to a better atmosphere during the run up to all party negotiations.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said the transfer brought to a successful conclusion the long standing campaign, on humanitarian grounds, to allow the prisoner to be close to his family.

With other developments, including the signal of permanent funding for Meanscoil Feirste and confidence building public statements, he said, "a helpful momentum is building up to facilitate a resumption of the IRA ceasefire and inclusive participation in all party talks".

The Labour politicians who visited Kelly in prison Mr Joe Costello, Mr Tommy Broughan, Mr Declan Breen and Senator Sean Maloney welcomed the transfer as a step in the right direction in the context of the peace process.

Another to who visited Kelly in jail, the Fianna Fail spokesman on prisoners' affairs, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, said it was now to be hoped that the British prison authorities would facilitate the transfer of the remaining prisoners under the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners.

The SDLP MP for West Belfast, Dr Joe Hendron, and the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, welcomed the transfer.

Mr Adams described it as long overdue. "Had Paddy Kelly been moved earlier or had he received appropriate medical treatment while imprisoned in England, his condition may not have deteriorated to the point which it has. Hopefully, he will now receive the treatment his condition requires."

He called for the immediate repatriation of IRA prisoners in England. "The British government should, as a matter of urgency, transfer immediately the remaining 24 republican prisoners in England, six of whom have spent over 20 years behind bars."

Mr Hendron welcomed the speed with which the transfer had taken place. "I am delighted for Paddy Kelly, his partner, Angela, and their three year old daughter."

He also called on the British government "to look sympathetically on the whole question of prisoners and to transfer any prisoners who, at present, are far removed from their families".