Dessie O'Hare may be allowed to go on day trips or on temporary release from next July if his transfer to Castlerea Prison is successful, The Irish Times has learned. The date of his eventual release is still a matter for the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
O'Hare has served 14 years of a 40-year sentence for the kidnapping and assault of the Dublin dentist, Dr John O'Grady in 1987. Through his INLA involvement, he has been deemed to be a qualifying prisoner for early release under the Belfast Agreement.
In a letter to the Governor of Portlaoise Prison announcing O'Hare's transfer to Castlerea, a Department of Justice official said that "an appropriate programme designed to assess his suitability and readiness for release" should be put in place from next July".
While all programmes are tailored to meet the needs of the prisoner, they usually include accompanied outings, day trips and temporary release, as well as psychological and psychiatric analysis. If this programme is successful, then O'Hare should be prepared for re-integration into the community, the letter states.
O'Hare's early release is still not guaranteed, according to the letter. "The Minister will, on completion of the proposed assessment, be in a position to make a final decision in the matter," the letter concludes.
Mr McDowell approved O'Hare's transfer to the Grove area of Castlerea, on the advice of the independent Release of Prisoners Commission.
In its advice, the commission said "very stringent conditions should apply to any release".
As well as keeping the peace, the commission advised that 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.
Another condition stipulated that he maintain contact with his consultant psychiatrist, "for a suitable period of years following release". The Release of Prisoners Commission also advised the Minister to consider consulting the Parole Board on the contents of the pre-release programme and on the conditions applying to any form of release.
Yesterday, O'Hare's solicitor Mr Joe Rice of John J. Rice and Co said his client felt "great relief" at the decision to move him from Portlaoise Prison to the more relaxed regime of Castlerea Prison.
He said O'Hare was particularly conscious of the fact that all other qualifying prisoners had now been released under the scheme and that he had been deemed to qualify since November 2000.
O'Hare wished to thank the prison's medical staff for their work with him, Mr Rice said. Asked about his client's reaction to the widespread media coverage of his offences 14 years ago, Mr Rice said O'Hare had made no comment on that.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice said he could not comment on what might be contained in O'Hare's pre-release programme. "These programmes are drawn up by professional psychologists and psychiatrists in the Prison Service," he said.
