The Parole Board has recommended to the Department of Justice that Malcolm Macarthur, one of the state's longest-serving prisoners, be transferred to an open prison to test his suitability for release.
Macarthur was jailed for life for the murder of a nurse, Bridie Gargan, in 1982.
He was arrested in an apartment in Dublin that belonged to the Attorney General at the time, Patrick Connolly, who resigned over the matter.
The Parole Board is believed to have considered psychological and psychiatric reports before making its recommendation.
In an open prison inmates are first tested for their suitability for release, and depending on the outcome of that test, can then be placed on a pre-release programme.
News of the recommendation by the Parole Board emerged on RTÉ's Prime Time programme last night.
But the Department of Justice said that the Minister For Justice, Michael McDowell, would be arranging for someone else to consider the report, as Mr McDowell was a junior counsel for the defence in Macarthur's trial.
