Five short paragraphs on prisoner releases are barely noticeable in the Belfast Agreement, tucked away on page 25 towards the end of the document. If the two governments hoped this positioning would be reflected in public reaction, they have been proved wrong. Since April 10th, those five paragraphs have generated more controversy than the 24 pages of constitutional provisions.
The prospect of prisoners convicted of murder and other serious crimes being let out on the streets sparked an emotional response that surprised even many politicians. Indignation was heightened by high-profile public appearances by the IRA Balcombe Street gang and loyalist killer Michael Stone. In effect, the agreement means prisoners affiliated to organisations on ceasefire - the IRA, the UDA and the UVF - will be released within two years of the enactment of legislation now passing through the House of Commons. A review body is expected to begin examining cases by the end of the summer. According to the Northern Ireland Office, there are 208 IRA prisoners in the Maze, 113 UDA members and 105 UVF inmates. Seven IRA women prisoners are housed in Maghaberry jail. For the moment at least, the provisions will not apply to the 26 LVF members, despite their declared ceasefire, and 27 INLA prisoners.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has emphasised that only prisoners who are deemed not to be a danger to society will be released. They will be released on licence and can be re-imprisoned if they get involved in paramilitary violence again. Their organisations will have to demonstrate that they are "committed to the use now and in the future of only democratic and peaceful means" and will also have to co-operate fully with the decommissioning body.
The rules governing prisoner releases were already changed in 1995 as a response to the ceasefires. Remission for determinate sentence prisoners (rather than those serving life sentences) was increased from one-third to 50 per cent of their sentences. Under the agreement, this will increase again to two-thirds, meaning a prisoner will just have to serve one third of the sentence. Dr Mowlam points that of the 240 prisoners released early since 1995, only two have been recalled for breaching their licences.
The NIO estimates 320 prisoners will be affected by the legislation, leaving out those serving less than five years. Of these 320, 79 would be due for release before July 1999 under current arrangements. Under the proposed changes, the number due for release over the next year increases to 236 out of that 320. There would then be just 84 qualifying prisoners left, 34 of whom would be due for release before July 2000. The remaining 50 would then be freed.
Nationalists in general, including victims of violence, have accepted the necessity of prisoner releases, but many in the unionist community find the prospect harder to accept.
Ms Mina Wardle of the Shankill Stress and Trauma Group says many victims are angry that some politicians have tried to use them as political footballs. "The same politicians didn't care for 30 years," she says. Most of the group's members reluctantly accept the early releases and she points out that nobody has ever been convicted for some of the worst atrocities.
She is critical of a recent proposal by Dr Mowlam to inform victims when the person who killed their relative is getting released. "I don't think she thought it out very well. Who would want a letter like that landing on their doorstep? What are they supposed to do with that information? It's putting responsibility back on them."
Prison officers, meanwhile, are afraid they will be forgotten about. The Prison Officers' Association chairman, Mr Finlay Spratt, says up to 1,000 of the North's 2,500 prison officers could lose their jobs. He says they should be given full pensions even if laid off before retirement age. "Everybody is talking about the RUC, but they forget about prison officers who had to work with these people. Thirty prison officers have been killed. We have paid the ultimate sacrifice and it was a job we were doing on behalf of society."
Organisations working with former prisoners have few concerns. Mr David Wall, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO), which works with both loyalists and republicans, says he welcomes the provisions in the agreement.
"Our judgment is based on evidence that with other prisoners, who were politically motivated, there is a minimal risk to the community."
In west Belfast, Mr Jackie McMullan, who runs a project to help former republican prisoners find work, says there is evidence that former inmates play a very positive role in their communities. A former prisoner himself, he says a recent survey of 80 youth and community groups in west Belfast found that prisoners were playing a leading role in 50 of them. "There is hardly a youth or community group in west Belfast where prisoners are not involved. That speaks for itself."