How it has unfolded:
April 1998 - The minister for justice, Mr O'Donoghue, says anybody convicted of Det Garda Jerry McCabe's killing would not come within the ambit of any agreement concerning prisoner release. His comments come 10 months before five men are convicted in connection with the killing.
November 1999 - Mr O'Donoghue meets Det McCabe's widow, Mrs Ann McCabe, and assures her that the killers would not be released early. She had sought the assurance after news broke of the men's transfer from Portlaoise Prison to the more relaxed confines of Castlerea Prison.
August 2000 - As more than 80 Republican and Loyalist prisoners from the Maze prison, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, insists the Government would not release the McCabe killers under the Belfast Agreement, despite the expiry of a two-year time frame under the agreement for prisoners' release.
March 2003 - The High Court rejects an application for early release under the Belfast Agreement of two of the gang.
May 2004 - Mr Ahern says the issue of the killers' release would have to be considered in the context of a final settlement in the North. His comments follow news that earlier negotiations on the North had provided for the release of the men if a final settlement was reached. The Government provides Mrs McCabe with a written assurance that a release would not take place unless a final agreement was reached.
December 2004 - As a final agreement on the North nears, Mr Ahern tells the Dáil the release of the men would have to be part of a comprehensive deal.