ONLY three Irish prisoners have been repatriated since the Government ratified the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners a year ago. Two came from Britain and one from the US.
The return of three republican prisoners from Britain is said to be imminent since the High Court orders allowing their repatriation were signed last Friday.
Today marks the first anniversary of the enforcement of the convention and a press conference in Dublin was yesterday told that political prisoners in Britain "have become hostages of the peace process".
Strong criticism of the slow rate at which Irish prisoners are sent to prisons in this country was expressed by a number of Government and opposition politicians as well as groups campaigning on prisoners' behalf.
Labour TDs, Mr Joe Costello and Mr Declan Bree; Fianna Fail's Mr Eamonn O Cuiv TD; and Senator Dan Neville of Fine Gael, called for greater speed in dealing with the issue.
They were speaking at the news conference organised by the Committee for the Repatriation of Irish Prisoners.
The two Labour TDs are part of a delegation travelling to Britain tomorrow to visit republican prisoners in Full Sutton, Belmarsh and Whitemoor.
They said the prisoners had played an important role in the peace process and Mr Bree added that the British Home Office was "dragging its feet".
Mrs Margaret Doherty, whose son, Derek (25), is expected to be repatriated within days, said she could not understand the delays.
Accusing the British authorities of "stalling at every stage", Mr O'Cuiv said that, at the present rate, it would take 20 years to transfer those seeking to be repatriated.
They named Joe O'Connell, an Irish prisoner who publicly criticised the IRA's bombing of Canary Wharf, and who has subsequently been placed in solitary confinement in a Liverpool prison.
Senator Neville said it was "soul destroying" to see how people changed "under the regime" of prison.
Ms Nuala Kelly, of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas, said the Convention was designed to cater for the needs of the families of prisoners who faced great difficulty in getting to Britain for visits.
Approximately 130 prisoners had expressed an interest in seeking transfer; 90 of these are in England and 42 cases are being processed, she said.
There are 21 sentenced republican prisoners in Britain and a further 14 are on remand. Many of the sentenced prisoners are seeking to return to Ireland to complete their jail terms.
Ms Kelly said the Convention was a human rights mechanism that should not be used as a political bargaining chip.
It was not about setting prisoners free but was about lifting a great burden from their families. The Government was showing good will but both governments should sit down and discuss ways of improving the implementation of the Convention.