The family of jockey Christy McGrath, who is serving a prison sentence for murder in Britain, has called on the Irish Government to have him returned to an Irish prison before Christmas.
The Tipperary man's repatriation was approved in July but his family still do not know when he will be sent home. His sister Caroline McGrath said the family had first been told that he would be home in November or December "but now we are hearing that it could be well into the new year. You can imagine how disappointed we are".
In 2001 the 29-year-old from Carrick-on-Suir was convicted of the murder of Gary Walton in Coundon, Durham, the previous July.
He has always maintained his innocence and his campaign has been backed by 160 TDs and senators as well as British MPs. The human rights solicitor Garth Peirce is working on his case.
Ms McGrath said the family was concerned about his health as he had been in and out of hospital due to a heart condition. "It's hard enough on the family too, going over and back every month or every second month. That's six-and-a-half years of travelling."
She urged the Government to speed up the repatriation because of his ill health and the strong political support for his case. "We would be calling on all TDs to put a bit of pressure on the Government to get him home."
Fianna Fáil Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú also urged the Government to speed up the processing of the case on humanitarian grounds. "His family are under extreme pressure because of the health issue. If the Government can do anything behind the scenes they should," he said. "The support for him from 160 TDs and senators is totally unprecedented and should be taken into account."
The jockey's family would like to see him returned to Portlaoise Prison and Christy McGrath has written to the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, requesting this. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said she could not give any information on the timing of McGrath's repatriation as "we don't comment on individual cases".
Ms McGrath said the family had booked a visit to see Christy on the day before Christmas Eve in case he did not get home. She called on people to send a Christmas card to her brother. Last year he received more than 1,000 cards.
