THE Oireachtas SubCommittee on Northern Ireland has concluded that the conditions under which Danny McNamee is being, held in Full Sutton prison, England, amount "to cruel, inhuman and unusual punishment."

Mr Jim O'Keeffe (FG), chairman of the subcommittee, said the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs had adopted the report on McNamee's case and it had been laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.

A delegation from the subcommittee, led by Mr O'Keeffe, recently visited McNamee, who is serving a 25 year sentence for convictions on explosive charges connected to the London Hyde Park bombing in 1982.

The subcommittee was concerned about the conditions he had been forced to endure for the last 10 years in special security units.

Mr O'Keeffe said: "To deny him access to open air over such a long time is indefensible.

"The amount of time which is allocated each day for exercise and recreation is incredibly short and we believe has led to Mr McNamee's deteriorating health, both mentally and physically, a point brought out in the Amnesty report. The constant noise in the special security units is hazardous to his health."

The subcommittee also heard submissions on the case and calculated that "a serious miscarriage of justice may have occurred".

Mr David Andrews (FF) raised the issue in an adjournment debate and was told by the Minister of State, Mr Emmet Stagg, that no decision had been made by the British government about McNamee's request for a transfer to Northern Ireland.

The Irish Embassy had made representations on his behalf, and a decision is expected "in the very near future" on his appeal for reclassification from categorisation as an exceptional risk high security prisoner.

Mr Andrews said that the case was one of the most serious miscarriages of justice since the Birmingham Six and the Maguire cases among others.

The Dun Laoghaire TD said the prisoner had spent 10 years in the "exceptional risk" category A, while the average length of time is normally four years.