A PROGRAMME of temporary release for has been approved for convicted murderer Malcolm Macarthur.
The department said Minister for Justice Shatter accepted a recommendation for temporary release from the parole board and has attached conditions that will be closely monitored by the Probation Service.
Temporary release programmes for prisoners who serve life sentences are generally regarded as the first step towards an offender’s eventual release into the community.
Macarthur (65) was jailed in 1982 for murdering nurse Bridie Gargan in the Phoenix Park. He was also charged with shooting farmer Donal Dunne, who had met him to sell a shotgun, but never faced trial for that offence.
His arrest in the home of then attorney general Patrick Connolly plunged Charles Haughey’s administration into controversy. Haughey subsequently described the events of the case as grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented which in turn led Conor Cruise O’Brien to coin the word “Gubu” for the scandal-hit government.
The department said yesterday that Mr Shatter was conscious of the “dreadful events of 1982 and of their impact on family members”. It added that families were contacted and informed of his decision to approve temporary release.
While it was unusual to comment on any individual prisoner’s status, the department said it was merited due to the public interest in a case which “shocked the nation so many years ago”.
It also said that Macarthur’s case had been reviewed a number of times by the parole board and, prior to that, by the then sentence review group.
“The parole board advises ministers on managing long-term prison sentences and recommendations for temporary release were made on a number of occasions,” the department said. “However, apart from some periods of short-term release at Christmas, it is only recently that a decision was taken to put a structured programme in place.”
It said Macarthur had been placed on short-term temporary release on seven occasions prior to this structured programme being put in place.
It added: “As with any prisoner on temporary release, there are a number of conditions attached to the programme which has been approved by the Minister. The Probation Service will closely supervise and monitor these conditions and, if there is any breach, he can be returned to prison.”
The department did not say how regularly Macarthur will be released, although media reports indicate he was on structured temporary release for the first time during the past weekend.
Meanwhile, Macarthur is being held at the Shelton Abbey prison in Co Wicklow. He was moved there from Mountjoy in 2003 following a parole board report recommending he be moved to the open prison to test his suitability for release.
Successive ministers for justice have turned down the parole board’s recommendations that he be placed on temporary release.
