An extradition treaty between Ireland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could come into force by the end of February, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said.
The treaty will facilitate the extradition of members of the Kinahan crime cartel, including Seán McGovern.
McGovern, a senior figure in the Kinahan organisation, was arrested in Dubai last October on foot of an Irish extradition warrant. He remains in prison awaiting the next stage of the process. Other senior figures in the cartel are also believed to be based in the UAE.
While the bilateral treaty with the UAE was signed by former minister Helen McEntee in October, the Government has yet to formally bring the new arrangement into force.
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Mr O’Callaghan said on Friday that the final part of the process involved himself and Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris bringing a memorandum to Government to commence the treaty.
“It comes into force once I sign the document. I’m hoping that will be done by the end of February,” Mr O’Callaghan said on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show.
The Minister also said he wanted to implement a stricter migration system in Ireland “which is fair, which is firm, which also should be speedy”.
The biggest delays in processing applications for asylum, he said, were at the appeal stage. He said he would like all applications to be processed promptly.
When asked the length of time, he said: “I would like to see it done within a period of six months.”
Mr O’Callaghan added that he hoped to recruit an additional 1,000 gardaí each year.
He said the ban within the Garda in relation to visible tattoos - that can be seen on the hands and neck - should be reviewed. “I don’t think it should preclude people unless they had [a tattoo] which was very provocative.”
Mr O’Callaghan also said the Government would proceed with the proposal in the Defamation Bill to abolish juries in such cases, despite him speaking out against it in the past.
“I have to be conscious as well that when I get into Government, I’m bound by the terms of the Programme for Government [although] there are issues that I don’t necessarily fully agree with.”
The Minister added that people who take defamation cases do lose them, and that the media “win very many of those cases”, and it wasn’t all a one-way street.
He continued: “I know the media are very vocal on this issue. I’ve also got to balance the constitutional right to people’s good name. There’s no organisation really representing decisions with respect to that. So it’s a balancing act.”
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