Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics has sent another letter to Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Justice, related to the case of Francis Ciarán Tobin, who has been convicted of dangerous driving resulting in death, and whose extradition in Hungary was refused by the Irish authorities.

In the letter, the Hungarian Minister for Public Administration and Justice urged for the setting up of a three-way consultation process, which Ms. Reding had in June promised to convene. Mr. Navracsics wrote a letter in July after there was no progress following Ms. Reding’s June announcement. Since then there have been specialist meetings, but no ministerial meeting.

In his latest letter, Mr. Navracsics expresses the hope that the Commissioner can find time to deal with this matter, which can only be resolved at a high level.

On 9 April 2000, the Irish citizen Francis Ciarán Tobin caused the deaths of two children while driving through the Hungarian town of Leányfalu. In 2002 a Hungarian court sentenced him in absentia to 18 months imprisonment. This June the Irish Supreme Court finally rejected the Hungarian authorities’ extradition request.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)