UK courts failed to pass on the conviction of European criminals to their EU home countries, of which around 18,000 were Irish.
In total, 112,490 criminal convictions were not sent to relevant EU capitals over an eight-year period due to a massive computer failure, it recently emerged.
Of those, at least 17,996 are Irish, representing the second largest group of EU criminal convictions. Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond, who also serves as the spokesperson on European Affairs, expressed his disappointment with this failure of communication.
“This needs to be raised formally and seriously,” he told the Sunday World.
“Why did these lapses happen, how will [we] cooperate going further and will the UK Government commit to meeting their responsibilities in keeping their neighbours safe?”