Sinn Féin said it was "profoundly disappointed" that two men, jailed in connection with the post office robbery in which Det Garda Jerry McCabe was killed, were denied early release.
Michael O'Neill and John Quinn were seeking early release under the provisions of the Belfast Agreement. However, their attempts failed in the Supreme Court today. The two jailed following the botched robbery in Adare, Co Limerick in 1996.
Sinn Féin TD Mr Martin Ferris said the judgement highlighted a "contradiction of the Good Friday Agreement"
"It is profoundly disappointing that the Supreme Court has ruled in this fashion. The Good Friday Agreement does not draw any distinction between prisoners belonging to organisations on cessation at the time of its signing.
"It states that all such prisoners will be released within two years of the signing of the Agreement.
"Today's judgement confirms that these men are in fact qualifying prisoners under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement as it has applied to others convicted of 'equally or even more serious' offences.
"However, in its ruling the Court has unfortunately said that it is acceptable for one party to the Good Friday Agreement to act unilaterally and take on itself to go outside the terms of that agreement. That is completely unacceptable and undermines the agreement itself."
O'Neill, an unemployed general operative, is serving 11 years for the manslaughter of Det McCabe; the malicious wounding of Det Garda Ben O'Sullivan at Adare, Co Limerick, on June 7th, 1996; and possession of firearms for the purpose of a robbery at Adare.
Quinn is serving a six-year sentence for conspiracy to commit a robbery at Adare in June 1996.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/fd292988-16f2-43c9-86dd-f70c18eac22b.png)