The Taoiseach told the Dáil today he had "no alternative" but to release four men convicted of the killing of Detective Jerry McCabe.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said today the four men would be freed as part of a deal to restore devolution in Northern Ireland. "That has been made clear in the negotiations," Mr Ahern told the Dáil.
"I understand that Mrs McCabe and the families will be annoyed with me.. However, if I want to get a comprehensive deal, I do not have an alternative."
"This is a request put by one of the parties, the obvious party, and it was put in that way," he said. "The issue is this . . . if I want, if the Government wants, and if we all want a comprehensive deal, there are many aspects of that deal, many aspects that affect many people which we have to deal with."
But the widow of Mr McCabe attacked the Government today over the plans to free her husband's killers. Ms Ann McCabe said she was devastated by the news of the possible release. "Who is running our Government - Sinn Féin, or the IRA, or Bertie Ahern?" she asked.
"I don't want to go down in history for stalling the peace process," she said. "I'm just very disappointed, but I hope that they won't come under the Good Friday Agreement and they will serve their sentence."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern
Ms McCabe told RTÉ News that Government ministers had handed her written assurances that the killers would not be released.
Earlier, Mr McCabe's brother-in-law, Mr Pat Carney, claimed the Government had broken its promise that the killers would be behind bars for life. He said the Government was ignoring the family, the public and even the word of Cabinet ministers. He also said the family were given assurances on two different occasions that killers' release not be considered.
Detective Garda McCabe (52), was killed by bullets fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle during an attempted robbery of a post office van in Adare in Co Limerick in June 1996. His Garda colleague, Mr Ben O'Sullivan, was wounded in the attack.
Pearse McAuley, Jeremiah Sheehy, Kevin Walsh and Michael O'Neill are serving between 11 and 14 years for their part in the killing. A fifth man, John Quinn, who was convicted of robbery charges during the incident, was later released after serving a six-year sentence.
The IRA initially denied involvement, but Sinn Féin has consistently called for the men to be released under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, a position previously rejected by the Government.
Mr Ahern said today the four men would not be released under the Belfast agreement but under previous legislation.