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The Republic’s Attorney General has become involved in the complex legal wrangle over the release, on compassionate grounds, of jailed businessman Sean Quinn.
The 66-year-old bankrupt from Fermanagh, who is serving a nine-week sentence for contempt, wants compassionate temporary release to attend his granddaughter's christening on Saturday and to spend Christmas with his family.
It has been learned that requests from Quinn and his family have now been referred to Irish Attorney General Maire Whelan because anyone convicted of contempt of court in the Republic, unlike other criminal offences including murder and rape, isn't entitled to remission and can only be released by the courts.
The Republic has no formal law on contempt of court despite repeated calls for contempt to be placed on a statutory footing, raising novel legal questions about whether Quinn can be released early.
