The convicted murderer Malcolm Macarthur is to be offered a transfer to an open prison following the acceptance by the Minister of State for Justice, Mr Willie O'Dea, of a Parole Board recommendation.
Macarthur, who has spent over 20 years in prison for the murder of nurse Bridie Gargan in Dublin's Phoenix Park in 1982, will be monitored in the more relaxed regime at Shelton Abbey open prison to assess his suitability for ultimate release. Mr O'Dea has decided to review the case again in 12 months' time, although reliable sources say a decision to release him at that point is highly unlikely.
The move will, however, raise Macarthur's hopes that he may be released in the coming years. The Parole Board recommended last August that Macarthur be moved to an open prison, a move that usually precedes the eventual release of long-serving prisoners. Macarthur is now among the longest serving prisoners in the State.
While the Minister for Justice normally acts on such a recommendation, the current Minister, Mr McDowell, was junior counsel in Macarthur's defence team at the time, and, following the report from the Parole Board, decided to ask another Minister to consider it.
In this case, Mr O'Dea was asked to take the decision, and he chose to accept the Parole Board recommendation. Some reports at the weekend suggested the Parole Board had in fact recommended Macarthur's release, and that Mr O'Dea had rejected this.
However the board only recommended transfer to an open prison, and Mr O'Dea has accepted this.
The decision represents further progress by Macarthur towards a more open, liberal prison regime. He was moved some years ago to Mountjoy Prison's training unit, the first stage of the process that usually leads to release.
However if he accepts the offer of a move to Shelton Abbey, it is understood he will not immediately be placed on a pre-release programme. Prisoners earmarked for release usually get occasional accompanied trips out of prison, followed by unaccompanied day release - sometimes involving work outside the prison. Macarthur will not be given such facilities at this stage, according to sources, although this position may be re-examined during the review in 12 months' time.
Macarthur was arrested in the home of the then attorney general, Mr Patrick Connolly, in 1983, and charged with the murders of Ms Gargan and an Offaly farmer, Mr Donal Dunne. The DPP decided not to go ahead with the prosecution on the Dunne murder when Macarthur pleaded guilty to the murder of the nurse.
Members of the Dunne family spoke out against the proposed move to an open prison when the Parole Board recommendation became known last year. They said they believed Macarthur still posed a threat to society, and specifically to the Dunne family.