Sinn Fein has strongly criticised Angelo Fusco's arrest. Cllr Martin Ferris described the decision as wrong and called for the Government to rescind the extradition warrants immediately.
Mr Ferris said the arrest had caused great anger and resentment among nationalists. "For the Irish Government to involve itself in the extradition of any Irish citizen on political charges is completely at odds with the commitment to release all political prisoners which lies at the heart of the Good Friday agreement," he said.
However, the halting of Fusco's extradition yesterday was condemned by Northern Ireland Unionist Party Assembly member, Mr Norman Boyd. He said: "The alleged co-operation under the Belfast Agreement between the two jurisdictions is non-existent and further proof that the Irish Republic is a safe haven for IRA murderers."
The Northern Ireland Prison Service said it was for the Sentence Review Commission - set up to administer early releases under the Belfast Agreement - to evaluate Fusco's case.
Paramilitary prisoners from organisations which support the Belfast Agreement are due to freed by May. Dissident republican prisoners and those convicted of offences committed after the agreement are excluded.