The double murderer Frank McCann should serve his full sentence in prison, it was claimed tonight.
Mr McCann, who was convicted of killing his wife Esther and the 18-month baby girl they were planning to adopt, succeeded in having his sentences backdated to the day he was arrested.
But speaking after the hearing at the Central Criminal Court, the sister of Esther McCann said the 45-year-old should be kept in jail as long as possible.
"He got concurrent life sentences. It's up to the Minister for Justice to keep him in jail, that's where the executive decision lies," said Marian Leonard.
Ms Leonard described McCann as arrogant, manipulating and evil and said he had shown no signs of remorse. "We have to keep Frank McCann in prison because we will not be safe if he comes out. There is no telling where he'll end up," she told reporters.
McCann was a former international swimmer and swimming coach, who owned the Cooperage Bar in Blessington, Co Wicklow.
He is charged with the murder of his wife and a baby, Jessica, after they died in a fire at their home in Rathfarnham in Dublin in September 1992.
The prosecution claimed that he had plotted to kill them after the Adoption Board refused his application to adopt Jessica, who was the child of his sister Jeanette.
The board had received an allegation, which Esther was unaware of, that McCann had fathered a child by a 17-year-old-girl.
McCann was found guilty in 1996 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. His case will be reviewed by the Parole Board, but the final decision regarding his release rests with Minister for Justice Michael McDowell.
PA