A life prisoner is entitled to apply for parole after 12 years. Judges should be in a position to decide the minimum term a killer should face, writes Mick Clifford

Deirdre McLaughlin’s sister Siobhán was murdered by her husband Brian Kearney in 2006 and he is serving a life sentence but Deirdre believes he should not get released from prison

Last year, 304 prison officers were recruited following a national campaign

The justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said this was due to long waiting lists and overcrowding