Inview of the near habitual overrun in recent times, which on a given day can create a perceived lack of balance, I feel obliged once again to remind leaders of the strict time limits laid down in Standing Orders for Leaders' Questions. The time limits are as follows: the leader of the party, two minutes; the Taoiseach, three minutes to reply; leaders' supplementary question and the Taoiseach's final reply, one minute each, with an overall time of seven minutes.

As I readily acknowledged previously in correspondence, Leaders' Questions is regarded as one of the more visible and lively features of Dáil proceedings, enabling topical issues of the day to be raised early in the sitting day. In the spirit of the relative spontaneity of the procedure, as Ceann Comhairle, I rarely intervene at Leaders' Questions. However, in view of the overrun in time, I ask the leaders to co-operate with the Chair in ensuring that the time limits laid down by the House are adhered to. It is not necessary to remind the House that Leaders' Question Time is confined to the leaders of the Fine Gael and Labour parties, the designated leader of the Technical Group and the Taoiseach. All contributions by others by way of interruption are not in order.

Let me test your edict, a Cheann Comhairle.

The Taoiseach will no doubt recall the furore around the country when it became known that the Government had signed on with the IRA for the early release of the killers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. I welcomed at the time the Taoiseach's withdrawal of this offer. Does he agree with the Garda Representative Association that the circumstances in which these killers are currently held in the Grove section of Castlerea Prison is completely inappropriate for the murderers of a serving garda? Can I remind him, in particular, that in his report of 25 February last, the Inspector of Prisons uncovered a shocking situation. He outlined that these prisoners appear to be running their own show in Castlerea, living in bungalows and ordering take-away meals. What steps has the Government taken in the two months since the report was published to clamp down on a situation where these people were effectively giving the two fingers to the McCabe family, the Irish Government and the Irish people?

I will try to be equally brief. The Provisional IRA prisoners have been detained in the Grove area in Castlerea since 1999, which is an open prison. I understand from everyone involved that it cannot be described as living in luxury. The McCabe killers, together with the other prisoners in Castlerea, are under no illusions that they are in prison. The governor is totally in charge in all prisons, including Castlerea. It is a matter for the governor to determine the duties of prisoners. It is entirely inaccurate to say that these prisoners are in control of the prison. The fact is that the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe are in prison. They will remain there for the duration of their sentence and, to the best of my knowledge, there are no proposals to change this.

The Inspector of Prisons said in his report that a house in the Grove area has only two occupants, but they will not allow anyone else to share it unless they are attached to their organisation. How can it be the case in an open prison that a group, or members of a group, can determine who else the governor of the prison should put into a particular area? Can I remind the Taoiseach what the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said arising from a Dáil question last July? He said he had inherited the circumstances that obtain in the Grove, presumably from his very vociferous predecessor, Deputy O'Donoghue. Were the prison arrangements for these murderers ever the subject of discussions between Government representatives and members of the Sinn Féin Party? Will the Taoiseach give an assurance that the decision to locate these prisoners in the Grove area of the Castlerea prison was not the result of any secret deal with the leadership of the Sinn Féin Party?

The leadership of the Sinn Féin Party has argued vociferously since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that the McCabe murderers should be let out under that Agreement. We have gone all the way to the Supreme Court to reject that. There were many attempts for us to come to an arrangement regarding this matter. I have explained to the House previously that the Government was once prepared to make such an agreement. There was no secret deal involved. Many prisoners have been moved out of the prison in Portlaoise over the years and in this case a number of prisoners were moved as well. When all the other prisoners were released in 1998 and 1999, the McCabe killers were the only remaining prisoners in this category held in the jurisdiction. Everybody else had been released. There might have been some INLA prisoners.

Quite frankly, we have moved to a position in which the McCabe killers are not being released. Any argument regarding where they are is a matter for the governor of the prison. The GRA never once raised this issue with me on the occasions on which it met me.