Larry Murphy release - Remission system must be reformed

THE release of convicted sex offender and attempted-murderer Larry Murphy from Arbour Hill Prison yesterday, having served only 10-and-a-half years of a 15-year sentence, has triggered intense public debate.

It will also cause a deep sense of fear and foreboding in communities up and down the country.

As is clear from today’s front-page contribution to the national debate, the arguments put forward by Dr Mary Rogan, chairperson of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, and mother-of-one Sue Donnelly — who advocates letting the public know online about the location of released sex offenders — show beyond doubt that there are no easy answers to this vexed question.