The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has said he looks forward to further transfers of prisoners and "the completion of that process at the earliest possible date". Responding to the transfer of three long-term IRA prisoners from Britain yesterday, Mr Ahern said he welcomed the move as a humanitarian measure and as an important contribution to confidence-building to accompany progress in the Stormont talks.
The Fine Gael TD, Mr Dan Neville, who travels to England today to visit republican prisoners, said that this week sees the second anniversary of the enactment of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Act, 1995, which allows for the movement of prisoners between European states.
"We have been concerned at the slowness of the transfer of republican prisoners to Ireland since the start of the peace process. I am acutely aware of the role that prisoners play in the process. Their transfer is a major plank in building confidence at this crucial stage of negotiations in Stormont," Mr Neville said.
His continuing contacts with prisoners in Britain revealed frustration with the progress of the transfers, he added.
Welcoming the transfer of the three IRA prisoners yesterday, he said he had been in "constant communication" with one of them, Vincent Wood, and he hoped this was the start of a rapid transfer of all republican prisoners to Ireland.
Mr Neville will visit Ms Roisin McAliskey in Maudsley Hospital annex in Beckenham tomorrow.
Senator Joe Costello of Labour, who also visits republican prisoners in Britain today, said he was "naturally pleased" that the three had been repatriated.
"However, it is a very slow process. It is exactly 12 months since the last three were transferred. Three were also transferred the previous year. It looks as though it is going to be three every year," he said.
Processing the applications was "a tortuous business and takes far too long", Senator Costello said. A total review should be undertaken on both sides of the Irish Sea to ensure repatriation can take place in accordance with the spirit of the European Convention which would allow prisoners to serve their sentences close to their families.