State witness Dowdall temporary release bid

Former SF councillor could serve prison term in protection scheme

- PAUL HEALY

FAILED State witness Jonathan Dowdall will be granted temporary release from prison if he is accepted into the witness protection programme, we can reveal.

The Irish Mirror has learned there is a plan in place to remove him from Limerick Prison at short notice. This will cut short his four-year sentence for facilitating the murder of David Byrne.

It is understood bosses at the Irish Prison Service are prepared for the possibility that gardai want to remove Dowdall from jail in weeks or months.