Minister apologises for seeking early release of rapist
Labour Affairs Minister Tony Killeen has been forced to apologise to victims of a child rapist after writing to the Minister for Justice seeking to get the man released early from prison.
Mr Killeen has confirmed that his constituency office twice wrote two letters to Michael McDowell seeking the early release of 74-year-old Joseph Nugent.
The farmer is serving a six-year sentence in Portlaoise and is not due for release until February 2008.
Mr Killeen is the second politician from Co Clare to seek the early release of the convicted rapist after Fine Gael's Pat Breen placed a Dáil question on the matter last October.
However, the Junior Minister is claiming he never meant to seek Mr Nugent's release and was simply seeking to have his safety protected following an alleged attack in prison.
