President Mary McAleese will pardon a small number of IRA fugitives under proposals published by the Government to deal with members of the organisation who were on the run before the Belfast Agreement was reached.
Last night, Government sources said they believed the scheme would cover about six IRA members, though they could not identify them, or give any details about the crimes for which they were wanted.
The Government has decided that legislation is not necessary to grant the pardons, which the President will make in line with powers vested in her under Article 13.6 of Bunreacht na hÉireann.
Those who qualify will have committed offences before the Belfast Agreement was reached on April 10th, 1998 and will be "not affiliated to, nor support" terrorist organisations.
Article 13.6 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states: "The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President, but such power of commutation or remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities."
This power is exercisable by the President on the advice of the Government.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will establish an eligibility board headed by a senior counsel to adjudicate on applications for pardon, and then make recommendations to the Minister, who would subsequently bring them to the Cabinet.
Though the scheme does not need legislation, the Government does not intend to move on it until the British government has its legislation through the Houses of Commons and Lords, though this is far from guaranteed given that Labour does not have a Lords majority.
"It is not possible to indicate at this stage when the scheme here will begin to operate," said Michael McDowell in a statement, though he did not make himself available for press interviews on the decision.
The pardon, he said, would not apply to the IRA members jailed in Castlerea for killing Det Garda Jerry McCabe in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996, or to two other men involved on the day who have never faced trial.
The Minister said: "It is the clearly stated position of the Government that those already convicted of offences relating to the cowardly killing of Garda Jerry McCabe and wounding of Garda Ben O'Sullivan will not benefit from early release.
"Equally, arrangements being proposed in this jurisdiction for dealing with what have become known as 'on-the-runs' will not apply to persons in respect of these offences," he said.
The Irish and British governments had, he said, accepted that the on-the-runs would have to be granted concessions as far back as the Weston Park talks in 2001, and again during the Hillsborough talks in 2003 when the two sides published detailed plans.
Emphasising that only a handful of cases would arise in the State, the Minister said the concession to on-the-runs could "be seen as a logical follow through of the early release provisions of the Good Friday agreement".
Nevertheless, he accepted that this would "not mitigate in any way the distress which the operation of this scheme was likely to cause people, particularly those who had been the victims of outrages perpetrated by paramilitary organisations".
