The transfer of 18 republican prisoners from British to Irish prisons is under active consideration by the British and Irish governments, according to the British Prison Service. It confirmed that the moves are under consideration only hours after it announced the downgrading of the security status of several republicans in British prisons.
A British Prison Service spokeswoman said last night that 17 requests were for transfers to prisons in the Republic and one "which is not even on the desk at the Home Office", was for transfer to Northern Ireland.
It is understood that three such transfers have been already agreed by the British and Irish governments, three more are being considered in Dublin and another 12 are still with the British Home Office and will be forwarded to the Department of Justice for consideration.
In recent years six republican prisoners have been transferred to Ireland. From a total of 27 requests, three have either been withdrawn or refused.
None of those prisoners who have had their transfer requests accepted by both governments has been moved yet to prisons in Ireland, the British Prison Service said.
The latest round of transfers appears to be linked to a decision made earlier this week to downgrade the security status of eight republican prisoners and five other men who are being held on remand in Britain on charges of conspiracy to cause explosions.
The British Prison Service describes the relaxation of security status as a security review. It has been criticised by the DUP and the UUP as a signal that the British government was "weak on terrorism."
Thirteen republicans in British jails had their security status downgraded from exceptional risk Category A to high risk Category A and were moved from Special Secure Units (SSUs) into the main wings of prisons on Monday.
This means there will be no republican prisoners held in SSUs in Britain and the SSU at Full Sutton will be "mothballed," according to the Prison Service.
The 13 men reclassified as "high risk Category A" are: Patrick Kelly, James McArdle, Brian McHugh, James Murphy and Michael Phillips, all on remand at Belmarsh in south London; Liam O Dhuibhir and Gerald Hanratty, held at Frankland Prison in Yorkshire; Paul McGee and Robert Morrow, held at Full Sutton in Yorkshire; Donald Francis Gannon and Francis Owen Rafferty, held at Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire; and Patrick Martin and John Crawley, held at Long Lartin in Worcestershire.
Six of the men - Gannon, Hanratty, Martin, Rafferty, Crawley and Morrow - were sentenced to a total of 210 years at the Old Bailey in July for planning to bomb electricity installations across London and the south-east of England last year.
Four of the men being held on remand at Belmarsh prison were arrested in September last year following the shooting by British police of Diarmuid O'Neill.
They were charged with conspiracy to cause explosions and possessing explosives after early morning raids in London and Sussex uncovered 10 tonnes of homemade explosives, 2lb of Semtex, three rifles, two handguns with ammunition, two booby-trap devices to attach to cars, several vehicles and other bomb-making equipment.
A fifth man, James McArdle, has been charged in connection with the Docklands bombing in February 1996, which marked the end of the previous IRA ceasefire. He is also charged with two counts of murder at South Quay, in London, on February 9th, 1996.
Sinn Fein welcomed the security review as positive yesterday, but called for the transfer of "all 26 Irish political prisoners."
The DUP justice spokesman, Mr Ian Paisley jnr, said IRA prisoners would now be "penning letters of thanks to the Home Secretary."