The Parole Board — the independent statutory body responsible for considering the eligibility for parole of people serving life sentences — now has 15 members, the maximum allowed under the Parole Act 2019.

Dr Cuthbert has been chief executive of Prisoner Aid through Community Effort (PACE) since 1999. She has developed an extensive programme of pre- and post-release services for life sentence and long-term sentence prisoners and has introduced a range of accommodation services for men leaving prison.

Ms Justice Heneghan retired as a High Court judge in 2017. She has had extensive experience of serving in a variety of courts. She was appointed to the panel of the Commission for Communications Regulation in 2004 and she also served on the Legal Aid Board.

In addition to the two new appointments, justice minister Helen McEntee has reappointed the representatives of An Garda Síochána, the Bar Council, the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland and the Law Society, each of whom has been re-nominated by their representative body.

Ann Reade and Kieran Kenny were recently re-appointed for a four-year term.

Mrs McEntee said: “I am pleased to announce this expansion of the Parole Board. The two additional members will help support the Board and ensure it has the capacity to undertake its important work in a more efficient and effective manner.

“The work of the Parole Board is essential to ensuring fair decisions are made on the continued imprisonment of people who have been convicted of the most serious of crimes, while also ensuring that victims’ voices are heard.

“I want to wish the members of the Board new and old well as they undertake this important work.”