A spokesman for the Irish Republican Socialist Party said today he expects Dessie O'Hare will not be released from prison for at least another year.
O'Hare has been moved to Castlerea Prison in preparation for his release under the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Willie Gallagher of the IRSP, the political wing of the INLA, said he did not expect O'Hare would be given parole this year under the regular Christmas arrangements for prisoners.
He expected O'Hare would begin to be given temporary release next July with the intention of freeing him the following year.
Mr Gallagher said his group was not very happy with the situation."Basically, they have made Dessie jump through all sorts of hoops. We thought he should have been allowed out on Christmas parole," he said.
He said the INLA would not have endorsed the kidnapping of Dr John O'Grady, for which O'Hare was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He claimed such actions were generally "taboo", but in the late 1980s there was a major feud in the organisation.
"The INLA were factionalised and Dessie hadn't a clue who was who and went his own way. Since then he has come back on board. Dessie was a victim of a conflict."
Mr Gallagher said that while the IRSP does not see the peace process as a solution to the Northern Ireland's problems, it accepts its endorsement in referendums north and south of the border. That was why the INLA had called a ceasefire in 1998.
"Dessie accepts that position. Basically his war is over," he said.
AFP