Mr. John Costello:

My understanding is that such representation is not required in every instance. In the case of life sentence prisoners, for example, their case is reviewed after seven years. This involves an interview by two members of the board who then submit a written report to the board. In addition, we receive reports on the prisoner from the psychology services, probation and welfare service and so on. The position heretofore is that previous Ministers for Justice have indicated an unwillingness to release any life sentence prisoners until they have served a minimum of 15 years. We have just received the agreement of the current Minister, Deputy Alan Shatter, that a life prisoner can be released after 12 years. The case remains, however, that no such prisoner will not be released following the seven-year review and the provision of independent legal advice to the prisoner will not change that position. One could argue that such advice might be useful in the case of a fourth or fifth review, after the person has been incarcerated for 12 to 16 years. In the case of the first or second review of a life sentence prisoner, however, there is no chance of parole being granted and, as such, legal representation would not add any value to the process.