The former Labour Party leader, Mr Dick Spring, has called for a full investigation into the apparent IRA murder in Kerry in 1985 of an alleged informer, Mr John Corcoran. He asked why the gardai had not interviewed Mr Sean O'Callaghan, who had publicly confessed to the killing on IRA instructions.

"Did the gardai have prior knowledge of the IRA's plan to murder John Corcoran?" Mr Spring asked. "If so, why was no action taken to prevent the murder and to arrest those who were torturing him?

"Why have the gardai not interviewed Mr Sean O'Callaghan, who had publicly confessed to the murder on IRA instructions?"

The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said the Garda investigation was hampered by the continued absence of Mr O'Callaghan from the jurisdiction since his release from prison in the North in 1996 where he had been serving two life sentences.

The victim's family "have endured an ordeal of ignorance about the circumstances surrounding the summary execution of a husband and father. The continuing drip-feeding of information and speculation has not helped. I intend to ensure that this uncertainty will be brought to an end as quickly as possible."