THE leader of the Progressive Democrats yesterday appealed to the Taoiseach to intervene in the case of a republican prisoner, Patrick Kelly, who is in Maghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland and is suffering from cancer.
Ms Mary Harney called for Kelly to be moved to Portlaoise Prison after she met Ms Angela Rice, Kelly's partner.
"Keeping Kelly in Maghaberry is taking a huge personal toll on Angela Rice, who visits Kelly's sickbed almost daily and runs a busy home in Portarlington where she is bringing up the couple's daughter," said Ms Harney.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on prisoners' affairs, Mr Eamon O Cuiv, said Kelly should be transferred under the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
"As a resident and citizen of the Republic, Patrick Kelly meets all the criteria set out in the convention and his application is of long standing. Under the convention all prisoners, as is the case with Patrick Kelly, who comply with the criteria should be afforded a transfer," he said.