The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called on the Government to clarify reports that it was prepared to release the killers of Garda Jerry McCabe as part of a deal to restore the North's institutions last year.
A senior member of the Garda Representative Association has said he is shocked by the reports that the Government was prepared to release the killers.
Paul Brown, a member of the GRA executive from Limerick said the association would be seeking an immediate meeting with the Minister for Justice.
A spokesman for the Justice Minister, Michael McDowell, said the Government's position was that there could be no release for the men in the context of ongoing Provisional paramilitarism. This position would not change, he added.
Martin McGuinness said Sinn Féin had never made any secret that they considered those involved as 'qualifying prisoners' for early release.
The BBC reported this lunchtime that the release of the four men currently being held in Castlerea Prison was part of an agreement that ultimately foundered over IRA decommissioning last October.
