No deal has been done concerning the release from prison of INLA prisoner Dessie O'Hare, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell said this afternoon.
Speaking as O'Hare returned to Castlerea prison after an overnight temporary release, Mr McDowell said media reports "that [O'Hare] is party to some deal with me is wholly untrue". One newspaper today claimed that O'Hare could be free by Christmas.
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The Minister said he was the person who would decide whether or not O'Hare serves the entirety of his 40-year sentence for the kidnapping and assault of the Dublin dentist, Dr John O'Grady in 1987. O'Hare has served 15 years of his sentence.
"I have made no decision in relation to releasing him from prison. Al the press speculation that I have read is entirely that, speculation. I make my decisions in relation to that particular matter in the light of objective criteria. They will involve the safety of the public and his suitability for release and the like" Mr McDowell said.
Through his INLA involvement, O'Hare has been deemed to qualify for early release under the Belfast Agreement. O'Hare is the only qualifying prisoner who has not yet been released. He has been deemed to qualify since November 2000.
O'Hare was granted the release to attend the a function at the Glencree Reconciliation Centre at Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. O'Hare was escorted to and from the centre by Irish Prison Service staff.
This was O'Hare's first temporary release from prison. Asked if it was likely that O'Hare would be granted temporary release in the future the Minister said he does not "talk to prisoners through the media on the subject of their own sentence management policies."
When O'Hare was transferred to Castlerea from Portlaoise last year the independent Release of Prisoners Commission said very stringent conditions should apply to any release".
It also sugested that as well as keeping the peace, O'Hare should not "through publicity or otherwise, do anything which might cause annoyance or distress" to anyone who might have been affected by his offences.