Galway East TD Mr Paul Connaughton intends to raise in the Dail tomorrow the murder of retired schoolteacher Ms Nancy Nolan by a convicted killer while he was on temporary release.
Mr Connaughton said the murder had caused deep anger in east and north Galway. The Department of Justice had an urgent obligation to review temporary releases to prisoners with such convictions in the light of this case.
Last week, the Central Criminal Court imposed a second life sentence on Thomas Murray (37), of Cloonlyon, Ballygar, Co Galway, for the murder of Ms Nolan (81) at her home near Ballygar last February.
The court was told that Murray had been convicted of the murder of William Mannion in 1982.
While serving the life sentence given for that crime, he was given temporary release from Castlerea prison and attacked Ms Nolan in her home on February 14th.
Mr Connaughton said the case raised a "huge question mark" over day releases. If the Department of Justice supervised convicted murderers while out on release, this murder might not have occurred.
He has tabled a Dail question asking the Minister for Justice what steps he intends to take to protect the public, and in particular elderly people, against dangerous criminals out of prison, unsupervised and on day release.
