The Department of Justice has confirmed that the transfer of a man, who was convicted of raping and murdering a woman in 2007, back to a jail in the Czech Republic has been deferred.
A spokesman said Minister Alan Shatter took the decision to defer the transfer at the weekend when he became aware of the concern of the family of 34-year-old Sharon Coughlan and agreed to meet them.
He said a decision on the transfer of David Brozovsky would be made "in due course".
In a statement read by their solicitor after the meeting with Mr Shatter, the Coughlan family said they had only learned last Wednesday that 23-year-old Brozovsky had applied to be transferred to his country of origin.
They said the lack of any other information caused great upset to them.
Earlier, Mr Shatter said it was a "usual" event that people convicted of serious crimes in the State could be returned to their country of origin to complete their prison sentence.
Brozovsky arrived in Ireland in July 2006 with members of his family.
He has 25 previous convictions in his home country for theft, extortion and battery, as well as two previous convictions in Belgium for theft and aggravated theft.
During his trial for Ms Coughlan's murder, the court heard Brozovsky dragged Ms Coughlan in off the street as she returned home from shopping.
The jury was told that he strangled her until she became unconscious, raped her, and then killed her.
Brozovsky told gardaí he had intended to steal her handbag.
He was arrested after gardaí traced Ms Coughlan's mobile phone that Brozovsky had given away in part-payment of a debt he owed.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
