Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Mar 2005

Vol. 598 No. 5

Private Members’ Business.

Northern Ireland Issues: Motion.

Mr. Kenny

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann

—deplores the brutal murder of Robert McCartney in Belfast on 30 January last;

—commends the McCartney family and Robert's partner for their courage in highlighting the circumstances of this brutal crime and in seeking justice in this matter;

—notes the recent statements by Sinn Féin that it supports the McCartney family's quest for justice for Robert;

—believes that all the persons responsible for this crime, including those who attempted to remove evidence from the crime scene, should face prosecution in the courts;

—regrets that no witnesses to this murder have yet come forward; and

—calls on all public representatives to actively encourage those with knowledge of this crime to come forward and give statements to the investigating police so that the justice in the courts sought by the McCartney family can be achieved."

My purpose in moving this motion is to provide for the democratically elected representatives in this House the opportunity to express our shock and revulsion at the brutal murder of an innocent man, at the attempts to cover up this appalling crime and the destruction of evidence at the scene. Most of all, it gives us the opportunity to express our admiration of the family of the late Robert McCartney for their brave and persistent attempts in the face of fear and intimidation in their community. The immense courage of the McCartney family and Robert's partner, Bridgeen, has touched the hearts of people all over this island. Their quest for real justice has the unconditional support of the overwhelming majority of our people and I hope that the Dáil will unite in solidarity with them in supporting this motion when it is put to a vote tomorrow evening. I welcome the indications from the Government and the Labour Party that they will do so.

The courageous stand taken by the McCartney family provides the provisional movement and its political representatives with both a challenge and an opportunity. For the first time, the provisional movement has been shaken by the depth of reaction from within its own community. It is probably fair to say that the McCartney family has achieved more movement from Sinn Féin and the IRA in the past three weeks than the British and Irish Governments have achieved over some time. The ongoing investigation of Robert McCartney's murder provides the provisional movement with an opportunity to put its words into action. This is an acid test of the movement's sincerity, of its repeated disavowal of criminal activity in all its forms.

The provisional movement, under pressure from the McCartney family, has moved significantly from its initial rejection of any suggestion that republican activists were in any way involved in this crime. In the early stages following the murder, Sinn Féin MLA, Alex Maskey, attacked the SDLP deputy leader, Alisdair McDonald, for stating that IRA men were responsible for the murder. The provisional movement also sought, in the initial aftermath of the murder, to downplay the significance of what happened by dismissing it as "knife culture", as if it was a bar-room brawl that had got out of hand.

It also rushed to condemn police searches of suspects' homes and to orchestrate rioting to hinder these searches. Far from supporting the McCartney family's calls for justice, it is clear that Sinn Féin and the IRA did everything they could to distance themselves from this crime. It was not until a fortnight after the murder that a Sinn Féin representative, Gerry Kelly, met the family and it was even later when the IRA issued its first statement on the matter.

The campaign of the McCartney family, supported by the vast majority of the community in the Short Strand area, has pushed the provisional movement to the point where it announced last Friday that it had expelled three of its members for involvement in this murder. This was the first time that anyone in the IRA or Sinn Féin had acknowledged that republican activists had participated in this savage crime. This internal disciplinary action within the IRA is totally inadequate and says more about the effects of internal pressure from its own community than any commitment to achieving real justice.

I understand that there are reports of an arrest this evening in respect of this murder. I also understand that a member of the gang that murdered Robert McCartney was previously expelled by the IRA for attempting to rape a woman in her own home, only to be re-admitted soon afterwards, having been given some minor flesh wounds to bolster his street credibility. In a second case, a person who had sex with a 14 year old was expelled from the IRA but re-admitted later. This is the measure of IRA expulsions.

Sinn Féin should have done far more to aid the investigation of the murder. Rather than issue public statements that have no effect within the community, Sinn Féin should go directly to the people who perpetrated the murder and are well known to the leadership of the party. My understanding is that 12 people participated in the brutal murder of Robert McCartney, a significant number of whom are members of the provisional IRA. Several of the central participants are active members of Sinn Féin who played important roles in the Assembly election campaign of Alex Maskey in November 2003. These people carried out a truly brutal crime that has been compared to the notorious activities of the Shankill butchers. It was not, as some suggest, a matter of a bar-room brawl which got out of hand and ended in an accidental death, but the savage murder of a completely innocent man. Any attempt to dilute the seriousness of what happened must be rejected.

The murder of Robert McCartney was ordered by a commander in the Belfast brigade of the provisional IRA following a minor dispute between the commander's uncle and the group with which Mr. McCartney was socialising. On the orders of the senior IRA man, Brendan Devine and his friend, Robert McCartney, were viciously attacked, dragged from Magennis's pub and brutally beaten and stabbed outside. When the attack, which included stamping on Robert McCartney's head, was over, both men were left to bleed to death on the street while the perpetrators locked all the customers inside the pub and announced that their activities were IRA business. Customers were warned that if anyone spoke about the incident, everyone present would be held responsible. People were also warned not to phone an ambulance for the victims. While all the customers were imprisoned in the pub, the perpetrators of Robert McCartney's murder proceeded to cleanse the crime scene forensically to remove any physical evidence as well as CCTV video tapes.

The cover up was ruthless and thorough and when it was over some of those involved returned to the Markets area from which they had been summoned. These activities were followed by the widespread intimidation of people in the area to prevent them from co-operating with the murder investigation. The intimidation ranged from direct threats against a witness who had a gun put to his head to arrogant swaggering around the Short Strand area by the perpetrators to send a signal that they believed themselves to be above the law.

I call upon representatives and the leadership of Sinn Féin to practise what they preach. We have listened in recent months as they used the most warped and twisted language to explain what they believed to constitute "crime". Theirs is a unique definition that appears to hinge on whether members of the IRA are involved. More recently we have heard statements, including one by Deputy Ó Caoláin in the House, in which they claimed they would not tolerate any criminality within their ranks and called on anyone involved in crime to leave their movement. These remarks were repeated recently by the president of Sinn Féin, Mr. Gerry Adams, which makes me wonder why he had no problem being in the company of one of the murderers of Robert McCartney at the funeral of Joe Cahill, as captured on film.

The time has come for Sinn Féin to break its link with its criminal associates once and for all. The party does not need to look very far to find the perpetrators of the murder of Robert McCartney. The members of the gang involved are republican activists with direct links to Sinn Féin. The gang, which has been nicknamed "C company" after the notorious gang run by Johnny Adair on the Shankill Road, has been terrorising and intimidating the people of the Short Strand area for too long. Its members inflict the most horrendous physical injuries on youths in the area whom they deem to have stepped out of line. It has been put to me that youths who fall foul of the gang have appointments made for them at the local Sinn Féin advice centre before being transported to receive punishments which range from severe beatings and kneecapping to severe and permanent injuries. There is no equivocation in their language about the definitions of "two-pack", "four-pack", or "six-pack" with which they refer to ankles, knees and elbows. It is time for their political associates to bring to heel the members of this gang who take the law into their own hands.

Tonight's motion demands that all those involved in Robert McCartney's murder and the subsequent destruction of evidence face prosecution in the courts in keeping with the stated objective of the McCartney family. I am deeply concerned by recent comments by the Sinn Féin president, Mr. Gerry Adams, who disgracefully described the savage murder as a "killing or manslaughter". He has also suggested that a single individual may have been responsible for the murder of Robert McCartney and the attempted murder of Brendan Devine. I reject completely these attempts to downgrade the severity of the offences. The McCartney family will not accept the presentation of a sacrificial lamb to take the rap for the entire gang. Equally, the outcome of last week's IRA kangaroo court is no substitute for real justice in the courts as sought by the McCartney family.

The family members, some of whom are former voters for Sinn Féin representatives, have made it clear that they do not want to do down Sinn Féin but seek to ensure that the perpetrators of the murder are brought before the courts and prosecuted and for the law of the land to take its course. We cannot have circumstances in which the IRA decides what evidence can be presented in any future prosecution. Sinn Féin must use its undoubtedly considerable influence with the community in the Short Strand area to encourage those who witnessed the savage attack to provide statements to the investigating police.

The issue of co-operation with the police is central to the satisfactory resolution of the crime. The Sinn Féin amendment to the motion, about which Deputy Ó Caoláin contacted me earlier, is a complete cop out. It seeks to widen the scope for people to come forward to individuals and bodies which have no role in the judicial process. If people were to follow the party's advice and present information in the manner suggested, little or nothing would be achieved. Sinn Féin representatives are well aware that the only effective way in which people can help to achieve real justice for the family of Robert McCartney is to provide formal witness statements to the police. If there are those in the nationalist community who feel for whatever reason that they cannot directly provide evidence to the PSNI, they are fully entitled to visit the police in the company of a solicitor or legal representative. One person has already done so.

I do not accept the comparison made by Deputy Ó Caoláin between the murder of Robert McCartney and that of Seán Brown in Bellaghy, County Derry, in 1997, the investigation of which was re-opened recently. The essential difference is that the PSNI is seeking general information from the community in the Brown case rather than the specific evidence sought in the case under discussion. While many people know who perpetrated the McCartney crime, the only way a prosecution can succeed is if formal witness statements are given and repeated in court as the IRA has destroyed all the physical evidence. Sinn Féin speaks about people in the nationalist community who do not trust the PSNI. As I have said, such people can visit the PSNI in the company of their legal advisers or solicitors. Sinn Féin could show some real leadership by removing any impediment to co-operation with the investigating police in this case. They should match their pious announcements with real action and let the tragic death of Robert McCartney be the catalyst for the separation of Sinn Féin from its criminal associates once and for all. A small step which could be made in this regard is to accept the clear and unambiguous motion which I have put before the House.

I met Robert McCartney's sisters and fiancée in Belfast last week. Considering the environment and atmosphere in which this investigation is being conducted, they are truly courageous and brave in standing up to this type of fear and intimidation, living as they do in the Short Strand area. In many ways they have lit a fire for the truth and unambiguous words necessary to bring an end to this matter.

I am reminded of the words of Martin Luther King in the 1960s. In his book, Strength to Love, he wrote:

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiples toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.

Robert McCartney's sisters and fiancée have shown their love for their brother and man, and that love demands truth and justice. Truth requires those responsible for this most brutal murder to be brought before the courts. Justice requires that those courts implement the law of the land.

I hope Robert McCartney's two little children grow up in a better world and that his sisters' and fiancée's unprecedented act of courage and bravery will be an inspiration to all of those on this island who are truly democratic and want to build an island of communities where equality is central. Sinn Féin and the provisional movement now have an opportunity to bring that about. If they do so — I hope they do — Robert McCartney's life and death may not have been in vain.

Mr. Allen

As Deputy Kenny said, the murder of Robert McCartney was a vile and brutal act and there should be no equivocation or hesitation in describing it as such. To set upon two men, killing one and injuring another, cannot be justified. This was an act without justification.

To set about a clean-up mission following such a heinous crime, cleansing the crime scene of evidence and intimidating a large group of people into silence and submission are actions that undermine the very basis of our society. Our sense of justice and ideals of democracy and simple common decency must be outraged at these acts as well as the initial act of murder.

A murder may be carried out by a small group of people but the subsequent acts of intimidation and crime scene tampering are the work of a larger organisation. All of those involved in this assault on society — which is the very nature of the murder and attempted cover-up — should be brought to justice.

From these most dreadful acts we have seen the immense courage and conviction of a family that will not be cowed into submission or intimidated into silence by the IRA. Following the murder of Robert McCartney, his family and partner set a standard from which they have never deviated. They are asking for the truth and for all of those involved in his murder to face justice and they will not accept anything less.

Robert McCartney's family and partner have been crystal clear in what they have said and done since his awful murder and their belief and strength sends a clear message to all people on this island. Contrast this with the confused, circular messages which have emerged from Sinn Féin since the murder. The day after the murder, Sinn Féin condemned the SDLP for asserting that the IRA was responsible for the killing. The party then tried to pass off the incident as a mindless act of violence, bemoaning the growth of a knife culture. This was a deeply disingenuous attempt to make this IRA murder appear as an unfortunate bar fight but this attempt to hide the truth also failed.

Perhaps when 1,000 people attended the requiem mass for Robert McCartney, Sinn Féin realised that IRA attempts to intimidate entire communities in Northern Ireland would not be successful on this occasion. The IRA may be able to frighten individuals from coming forward, but the huge attendance at the funeral mass was a clear signal that the community would stand and oppose this intimidation together.

The denials of the IRA that it was not involved in the murder were eventually shown to be utterly and completely false with the news on 25 February that it had expelled three people from its ranks. As in the murder of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in Adare, we were once again treated to another Sinn Féin and IRA denial of involvement which was later exposed as a lie. The statement from the IRA offering three of the 12 people suspected of being involved in the murder and subsequent cover up was rightly described by the SDLP as a highly cynical exercise. The family of the murdered man did not accept it either, saying that no one had come forward and they believed the IRA was still shielding the nine other people involved. Moreover, it was an outright insult for Sinn Féin not to call on people with information on the murder to immediately go to the police.

These double standards and deceit have damaged the current peace process and the nature of democracy on this island. In recent years it has been apparent that a blind eye has been turned to Sinn Féin and IRA criminality in this country. This has damaged our democracy and society. We cannot allow a situation to continue where one particular party enjoys all the benefits of inclusion in a democratic process that, by their actions, they then seriously undermine.

Criminality has damaged the peace process and this has become all too apparent in recent times. The Northern Bank robbery, the resumption of punishment beatings throughout Northern Ireland and the vile murder of Robert McCartney are episodes of serious and unacceptable criminal activity. A blind eye can no longer be turned to what is happening in different parts of this island.

In all of this, the Northern Ireland political process has weakened and parties, such as the SDLP, have been sidelined by the two Governments in the headlong rush to bring terrorists in from the cold. This is a shame and a folly, as demonstrated by recent events. Parties exclusively committed to peaceful and democratic means must be re-engaged in the peace process at the highest levels.

The SDLP has made detailed proposals with regard to the future of the Northern Assembly. I echo the SDLP leader's call that the Government reconvene the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation without delay. This forum should meet soon and as often as is necessary and may prove invaluable to finding a way forward from the current significant difficulties.

It is difficult to imagine that only months ago this Government was making the most warm and inclusive statements with regard to Sinn Féin and the IRA. Cabinet Ministers are now clear that Sinn Féin and the IRA are two sides of the same coin. Was it not recently that the Minister for Foreign Affairs predicted Sinn Féin would serve in Government relatively soon? Was it really our Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who stated that it would be the happiest day of his life if he had to travel to the widow of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe to explain the Government decision to release his killers?

The Taoiseach and the Government must press for justice in the case of Robert McCartney without compromise or equivocation. If there is to be a trial in this case and if those who are responsible are to face justice for their actions, witness statements will have to be taken. In the absence of these statements, no justice will be forthcoming. In this matter, Sinn Féin and the IRA have serious questions to answer. Why did Sinn Féin dismiss this murder as an incident of knife culture, as if there was no paramilitary involvement in the killing? Why did Sinn Féin condemn the police for carrying out searches and questioning people about this murder? If a murder happened in my constituency I would certainly question the Garda Síochána if it failed to do its work of protecting the community by searching for the killers. Why did the leader of Sinn Féin wait for more than two weeks after the family of Robert McCartney had spoken out before he mentioned the murder publicly? Was he hoping that, unlike the IRA, the McCartneys would go away?

This evening I am asking whether Sinn Féin will, for once and for all, call upon people to go to the police if they have information on this murder. Will they ensure that the systematic intimidation of witnesses is stopped? The cause of justice is our cause. I lend my voice to the call by all public representatives to actively encourage those with knowledge of this crime to come forward and give statements to the investigating police to ensure that the justice in the courts sought by the McCartney family is achieved.

We welcome the support of the Green Party for this motion. I ask that it be passed by the House without division.

Mr. Ring

I am delighted to see the leader of Fine Gael putting this motion before the House. It puts the Fine Gael position very clearly to the people. A few months ago, although I was doubtful about the situation, I thought IRA-Sinn Féin criminality was finished. As recently as last December, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform told the House that was the case.

I compliment the McCartney family. This is a turning point in Irish history because the people of Northern Ireland, particularly the Nationalist community, are speaking out and saying that they believe in the political process. They no longer believe in the IRA. There cannot be two laws in this or any other country. There must be one rule of law and one police force. It would be outrageous if it were otherwise.

I have heard the Taoiseach, the leader of Fine Gael and other speakers tell the House the details of punishment beatings that take place regularly in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland. When one sees those things happening, it is not a civilised society to live in. There can be only one police force.

I have had many contacts with Northern people who come to the town in which I live, particularly on holidays. It is sad to hear Nationalists say they would prefer to go back to the bad old days in Northern Ireland and be controlled by the RUC, rather than being controlled by the thugs of the IRA. As Deputy Kenny said, if young lads commit minor crimes in the North, which should be dealt with by the police force, they are brought instead to political clinics where they receive punishment beatings and may be knee-capped. This must stop.

I tell the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the time is over when we can turn a blind eye to IRA people who are involved in committing crimes, including the drugs trade and robbing banks. The full resources of the State should be given to the Garda Síochána to do its job. In recent years, I believe there was a coded message telling the Garda Síochána to lay back because these people were coming into the political process. That is not happening, however, so we now have to deal with them. We have to take them on if they are not prepared to join the political process. They had the opportunity to do so.

Every political party supported peace and the Good Friday Agreement. They were prepared to bring these people on board and give them all the help and resources of the State's democratic institutions. They did not take their chance, however, so it is now time for the Government, the Garda Síochána and the Army, if we have to use it, to round up these criminals. The place for them is behind bars. When they are put behind bars they must not be allowed to control the prison services, as is going on in Castlerea. I spoke to constituents of mine who were put in that prison for a short time before being transferred elsewhere in the State to serve their sentences. They saw who was controlling the prison. I have to ask whether the IRA, the Garda Síochána or the Prison Service is in control.

Fine Gael believes in law and order. There must be only one police force in the State and one Government. That is what the people want and they believe that the IRA has to be dealt with. My colleagues in Sinn Féin have a job to do in ensuring that they distance themselves from the IRA, so that we know exactly where they stand. Listening regularly to Gerry Adams and other Sinn Féin spokespersons, I notice that they have a coded message all the time and never answer a question.

I congratulate the media for allowing the McCartney family to explain their case. The media has a major role to play in what is going on North and South. Members of the family, including the late Mr. McCartney's aunt, wrote to the newspapers and were not afraid to appear in the media to name and blame the IRA. This is a turning point. The time has come for more Nationalists in the North to speak out, but they will need the support of the media and the police on both sides of the Border.

The days are over when the IRA could tell Irish citizens that if they did not leave the State, they would be knee-capped or killed. If they do not come into the democratic system we will confront them head on. That must happen if lawlessness is to cease.

I am glad Fine Gael has moved this motion and I hope all democratic parties will support it tomorrow. It is a simple, straightforward and honest motion that speaks for the people, and I hope every Member of the House will vote for it tomorrow night. I do not want to see anyone abstaining. If they vote for it they will send out the right message to the IRA.

Mr. McGinley

I am delighted to have a chance to speak on this motion, which is both timely and opportune. It will give every Member of the House an opportunity to show their solidarity, support and sympathy for the brave sisters and fiancée of Robert McCartney. I come from a Border county, as does the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Donegal was probably more aware of the difficulties in Northern Ireland than any other county, including yours, a Cheann Comhairle.

Donegal is virtually cut off from the Republic. If the bridge at Ballyshannon was no longer there the only land access we would have to the rest of the country would be through Northern Ireland. If one did not avail of that, one would have to travel by boat to leave Donegal and re-enter the country. We were very aware of what was going on in Northern Ireland. We were very affected by it socially, politically and economically. Indeed, the unemployment rate in County Donegal is 16% or 17%, which is four times the national average.

There is a strong correlation between what is going on in Northern Ireland and its effect on my side of the Border. The Troubles often percolated right into my constituency. I had occasion to attend funerals in Donegal of constituents who were murdered by the IRA who had associations with Northern Ireland, some of whom were members of the police force there. The two areas are closely associated.

We were delighted in recent years that things had quietened down in Northern Ireland. There is a semblance of normality there for a number of years. However, while the outward manifestations of the Troubles such as watchtowers, army patrols, barricades and surveillance have almost disappeared from the Northern Ireland landscape, they have been replaced by a far more sinister and vicious phenomenon lurking, almost invisible like a serpent, underneath the surface throughout Northern Ireland, particularly in Nationalist communities. It is possible that they exist in loyalist communities as well. I refer to the gangs of vigilantes operated and controlled by members of the Provisional IRA.

While we have all been aware for some time of their criminal activities, two recent events, namely the Northern Bank robbery and particularly the vicious, brutal and savage murder of Robert McCartney have become wake-up calls for every true democrat on this island, North and South. This was a callous, calculated and brutal killing carried out with the brutal viciousness and efficiency that only psychopaths can command. That was followed, as Deputy Kenny has already said by the gruesome exercise, in the presence of over 70 customers, of forensically cleansing the scene of the crime and threatening anyone who dared to speak with a similar fate.

A number of people have expressed surprise to me that over 70 ordinary people would not come forward and tell the story of what happened. The ordinary people of Northern Ireland can differentiate between right and wrong, good and bad, as well as the rest of us. They are no different. They are good living people and they try to do their best. When one is subject in one's community to jackboot tactics by vigilantes and members of Sinn Féin, one will think twice before coming forward.

Another example of this phenomenon is the funeral of the much lamented Jean McConville. When her remains was found after 30 years her funeral went through Nationalist Belfast. The people there would have wanted to show respect to a neighbour and a mother who was brutally murdered but they were intimidated and terrorised. They were told to keep their doors closed, their blinds drawn and not to show any sympathy. That is the extent of the intimidation that is going on there.

The first response of the Provisional IRA after this murder was, as Deputy Kenny stated, to deny any involvement or association. Through pressure from the sisters of the victim and the media they eventually expelled three of their members. We have to salute and recognise the bravery of the sisters and the fiancée of Robert McCartney. Only for their courage, his death would be buried like so many others who suffered the same fate at the hands of the IRA down through the years.

The family want their brother's killers to answer for their vicious crime in a court of law, not in an IRA kangaroo court. They want convictions in the courts of the land. That can only be achieved by making all the relevant information and evidence available to the police. This appears to be the stumbling block of the Provisional IRA and even of its spokespersons in this House. They have difficulty in stating that people should go to the police to tell them what they know so that those responsible can be charged.

These people do not want a police service in Northern Ireland; they want to police their own areas and retain the power and control they exercise over these communities. The Nationalist communities are subject to a reign of terror and intimidation even worse that what was exercised in the past in the pre-Patten era.

As the motion states, I urge people to come forward and tell the police what happened. The force is completely reformed. A member of the commission who came from the United States who was involved in the restructuring process of the RUC, stated that the PSNI is the most open, democratic and transparent police force in the world. No one should have any reservations about going forward and giving it information so that justice is done for Robert McCartney. As a Border Deputy, I urge people to come forward and do that.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

I wish to share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Brendan Smith.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mr. D. Ahern

I am delighted to be able to participate in this debate. The case of Robert McCartney is one of collusion. The purpose of the collusion is to avoid justice, to escape the truth and to protect the killers. Like all collusion cases before it, the Irish Government will incessantly press for truth and justice for the family and for the wider society. Like the cases of Rosemary Nelson, Patrick Finucane, Robert Hamill and many others, we will not allow the case of Robert McCartney to slip from the agenda.

On behalf of the Irish Government I made that pledge to Robert's sisters and partner and I intend to keep it. Robert was clearly a deeply loved brother, partner and father. The family spoke movingly and tenderly about him. I commend their composure and determination. Although deeply grief stricken, they have sought to focus on achieving truth and justice. The longer that process is delayed, the longer it will be before they can deal with their loss as a family. No length of time will dull their will to secure justice. No matter how long it takes, I know this House and the Irish people will stick solidly by them.

I add my voice to all those who have commended the stand taken by the McCartney family. It has taken real courage to confront those responsible and their associates. The sickening details of the murder can leave no one in doubt about what these perpetrators are capable of, and what a menace to their own community they represent.

It has also taken real courage for the family to take its case to the court of public opinion. Their interviews and public statements have been marked by a degree of integrity and belief in the rule of law that has inspired all who have heard them. The courage of the McCartney family is also reflected in its demand that the killers be brought to justice, not the justice of the backstreets, the mountainside or the seashore but the justice that only the law of the land can provide. Despite their own reservations about the administration of justice in Northern Ireland, they are prepared to trust the courts and the PSNI to give them justice.

Truth and justice are words that spring easily to the lips of spokespersons for Sinn Féin. The challenge now is whether the provisional movement can accept the family's demand and give them the truth and justice they are seeking in the family's own terms. There has been much talk about encouraging people to come forward. Provisional leaders and spokesmen have said that people with information should offer that information to whoever they feel comfortable in imparting it. That may or may not mean the PSNI. In the weeks following the murder, Sinn Féin spokespersons openly called on people with information to come forward, but not necessarily to the police. The leadership stated there were reservations about the police.

Let us be clear about this. The only information that will help put the killers of Robert McCartney behind bars is information given directly to the PSNI which will lead to statements that can be used as evidence in a court of law. The question is not whether Gerry Adams would testify in court but whether he would offer a statement to the PSNI.

That would certainly be an implication of his recent statement but given the allegations of witness intimidation it would be helpful if he could clarify that point. I fully agree with the Taoiseach and the McCartney family when they say the IRA has a role here too in ensuring the killers are brought to justice before the courts. When I met the McCartney family last week, the Sinn Féin leadership had already made statements supporting the family's call for justice and encouraging people to come forward. However, when I talked to them, none of the witnesses to the crime had done so. So intimidating is the menace of paramilitaries in the Short Strand and Markets areas that their mere presence is enough to still voices and quell legitimate protest.

The McCartney family made clear to me that it was one thing to issue statements and quite another to see results. They were very clear that the leaders of the provisional movement knew how to do both; how to issue statements and how to ensure that witnesses felt free to come forward. They were clear that the only real measure of the sincerity of the Sinn Féin leadership lay with the outcome. The bottom line is that until the killers are brought before the courts, no member of the provisional movement can utter the words truth or justice with any credibility. No amount of spin is worth the conviction of the killers and justice for the family.

I do not need to remind the House of the broader political context which has contributed to the general lack of credibility of the statements issued by or on behalf of the provisional movement. Séamus Heaney once remarked that in ancient Ireland the spoken word had the power of voodoo. There was reverence for the word, for its value and integrity and the peace process made significant progress because it was believed that words would be honoured by deeds. However, as the McCartney family has said, people are now too familiar with the double-speak of the provisional movement and they know how to decode it.

My officials and I were monitoring this dreadful event in some detail very soon after it occurred. Based on our contacts and sources, a detailed picture quickly emerged of the main outlines of what had happened. It was an appalling picture of bullying and thuggery that quickly degenerated into heinous violence against innocent men. However, contrary to all the intelligence of which we were aware in Dublin, a leading spokesman for Sinn Féin, a life long member of the provisional movement and a former Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alex Maskey, condemned the incident as a tragic example of the knife culture in Belfast. He accused the PSNI of being heavy handed in searching for evidence against the killers and excused the young rioters out to impede the police. Did he not know what we in Dublin already knew?

Rumours were spread by others locally that victims had in fact been the perpetrators of their own wounds in a fall-out among friends. A rumour was circulated that McCartney was a member of the Provisional IRA so that the ordinary decent members of the public should have no need for concern. Let me remind the House what the Government once said about another incident when the victims were blamed for their own deaths:

What sets this apart from other tragedies that might rival it in bloodshed...is that the victims suffered a second injustice when others sought to taint them with responsibility for their own deaths in order to exonerate, even at that great moral cost, those they found it inexpedient to blame.

Those words can be found in the report, Bloody Sunday and the Report of the Widgery Tribunal — the Irish Government's Assessment of the New Material. They were directed at the British Government for the actions of the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Widgery, in blaming the victims of Bloody Sunday in order to exculpate the soldiers involved. In response to our assessment that the Widgery report was not just deeply flawed but a profound injustice to the victims, the new Labour Government under Prime Minister Blair set it aside and established a new public inquiry under an international panel of judges to look again at those terrible events. This set the new tone of the British Government's engagement in Northern Ireland under Tony Blair and proved an auspicious start to a process that would quickly see the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement.

What irony then that Robert McCartney should be literally slaughtered at the hands of those self-styled republicans returning from the Bloody Sunday commemoration. I wholeheartedly agree with the comments of Eamonn McCann when he likened those who murdered Robert McCartney to the British paratroopers in the Bogside. The PSNI was judicious in its comments. There was no reflex response by the PSNI publicly, assuming or claiming the worst as far as the IRA were concerned. As early as 3 February, the chief constable said he did not believe the crime was related to a particular terrorist group following its particular objective. At that point, the case seemed clear — a bar brawl had ended in a terrible tragedy and the IRA was not involved.

However, privately, we knew that the reality was quite different. The family knew it as did the people of the Short Strand and the IRA was protecting its own under the blanket of denial and obfuscation. That pattern has persisted. While the provisional movement has rapidly shifted its position in response to the pressure mounting from the family and their community, any progress forward has been consistently one step short of what is required. The remarkable feature of this case is the speed with which truth overwhelmed the official line peddled by the provisional movement's spokesmen.

Inspired by the family's courage, by the depth of revulsion about the slaughter of an innocent man, a Sinn Féin voter no less, the community of the Short Strand held a candle-lit vigil and on the day of the funeral attended in their masses. Some 1,200 people came out to support the family and with silent dignity defy the official line from a Provisional leadership that liked to portray itself as a defender of that community.

The McCartney case crystallised a challenge to some fundamental notions of what the provisional movement claims to stand for. It claims to stand for justice but the question is what form of justice. Is it the same kind of justice in the courts of law and public inquiry that it has demanded for the families of Bloody Sunday, for the Finucane, Hamill, and Nelson families? It claims to stand for truth, but will it stand for truth only when that truth can be used as a weapon in pursuit of its own interest? It claims to stand as a defender of the small and vulnerable Short Strand community. That rings hollow for the McCartney family.

This case is clearest evidence of the gaping and growing divergence between provisionalism and Irish republicanism. The people, in the first act of 32 county self-determination since 1918, overwhelmingly backed the Good Friday Agreement. That Agreement granted Irish people the legitimate expectation of an end to paramilitarism and criminality. That is clearly the will of the Irish people. No Irish republican can oppose that will. However, the provisional leadership continues to hinder that will. That movement continues to cling to paramilitarism and criminality. If protecting killers, or destroying forensic evidence or keeping the police from the crime scene do not constitute criminality, I do not know what does.

Pearse, in his great poem, the Rebel, spoke of a sorrowful people under the lash of masters, and of their courage and their determination for freedom. In the Short Strand and the case of Robert McCartney, the provisionals seem to have become the masters. A normal Irish family like that of Robert McCartney's have become today's rebels, determined to secure truth and justice against all. That is not what Ireland in the 21st century was supposed to be like.

On Friday the IRA announced that it had expelled three of its members. It offered a narrative of sorts for the events of that day, as if its own self-styled process of inquiry could offer facts about what transpired as if it were a court of law. The outcome was the expulsion of three members and encouragement that they take responsibility for their actions. Was this a step in the right direction? Certainly when I spoke to the family earlier that week, they asked why the perpetrators remained in the ranks. The IRA statement of Friday last was a response of sorts to that. However, in falling so short of what the family wanted, it was a response that seemed tailored to the provisional movement's need to ease the pressure rather than listen to what the family was saying.

The family has insisted that is not enough and we stand by the wishes of the family. What they want is justice, not the provisional definition of justice or the provisional definition of what it finds tolerable. The McCartney family like any normal decent Irish family wants and is entitled to justice without limits and without prescription.

As a republican, I can understand the sense of siege and vulnerability felt by nationalists living in Northern Ireland. I am old enough to have lived most of my life in a time of violence and conflict because of the problem in Northern Ireland. I have known and admired people who have lost their lives, including decent people who suffered the ultimate penalty because they fell under the suspicion of the provisional movement. One was Tom Oliver from Cooley, in my constituency, who was brutally murdered. Even after his murder, his name was smeared through a whispering campaign against him and his family.

I knew there had to be a better way and I believe the Sinn Féin leadership knows there is a better way. I acknowledge its profound contribution to the peace process. Nobody can gainsay the fact that it has managed its constituency in all its aspects to ensure that a ceasefire has been maintained and that weapons have been decommissioned, to an extent, in a situation where the overall political environment has presented some opportunities but equally has been prey to turbulence and uncertainty.

However, there comes a time when the old ways of doing business will not work anymore. There comes a time when responsibility demands that rhetoric is matched by actions, when a moral crisis demands clarity and precision and when the provisional movement must act like Irish republicans and heed the will of the Irish people. What does one do? Listen to the family and help them find justice. What is justice? It is the rule of law. How does one co-operate? One co-operates by making statements to the police.

There comes a time when a case arises that carries with it enormous significance. The public is rightly focused on this case because of its moral clarity. Words and statements will not deflect its focus. The demand for justice will only be satisfied when everything possible has been done and has been seen to be done.

Some Sinn Féin spokespersons referred to concerns about the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. That, too, fell under the umbrella of the Good Friday Agreement. Under the Good Friday Agreement, the criminal justice review made 294 recommendations for change. Those changes are being implemented following two Criminal Justice Acts and a revised implementation plan in a process overseen by an independent criminal justice oversight commissioner. In the negotiations leading to the comprehensive agreement of 8 December, Sinn Féin did not raise concerns about what had been achieved under the Good Friday Agreement and the Joint Declaration in terms of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland.

This is not about Sinn Féin and the broader issue of policing or criminal justice. However, as I said to the McCartney family, policing is a key element of this case. Only by co-operating with the PSNI can the killers of Robert McCartney be brought before the courts and prosecuted for this terrible crime. Sinn Féin and the IRA can only help the McCartney family when they accept that this is the case.

This is a challenge for the provisional movement. I acknowledge the recent statements by the Sinn Féin leadership that it recognises that there are more hard choices and more hard decisions ahead. I welcome that it says it is up for the challenge today. It is positive and encouraging that the leadership has restated its commitment to seeing all the guns taken out of Irish politics and to being part of the collective effort that will create the conditions where the IRA ceases to exist — the sooner, the better.

The Irish Government has been a willing partner for peace throughout this process. We have stuck with it through all the tough times. We will do so again. We will not be found wanting when the opportunity arises to ensure that the commitments to abide by democracy and the rule of law are turned into a reality for everyone living in Northern Ireland.

I welcome this opportunity for the House to consider the murder of Robert McCartney. The Government has not sought to put down a counter motion. We fully subscribe to this motion without hesitation. Our approach underlines the unanimity among Deputies who believe in justice and the rule of law. I commend this motion to the House as a declaration of support for the McCartney family and their pursuit for justice.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. B. Smith)

I commend this motion in support of the courageous stand being taken by the McCartney family in their search for justice for their murdered brother, Robert, a family man and respected member of the Short Strand community. The family has shown remarkable strength and determination in what could only be considered as the most difficult of circumstances. They deserve the full support of this House in their efforts to bring Robert's killers to court to face the full legal and moral consequences of their actions.

In normal circumstances his family should be allowed to grieve in private with the support of their friends and community. They should be able to expect a speedy and efficient investigation with the co-operation of all those who witnessed Robert's murder. Instead, they find themselves having to mount a public campaign to try to achieve justice. Last Sunday found them out on the streets of the Short Strand encouraging members of their community to continue to support their campaign for justice.

Over the past four weeks Robert's family, his sisters and partner have traversed the country. They have met journalists, diplomatic representatives, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and his officials and representatives of the political parties in this House. They have done so in the name of truth and justice, to highlight the tragedy of Robert's murder and to bring attention to the intimidation and fear being meted out to a community to prevent individuals from bringing his killers to justice.

We should not underestimate the courage it has taken for the family to carry out this campaign. These are ordinary women, with young families, living what should be normal, everyday lives. However, in the wake of the murder of their brother, they have had to face down those within their communities who try and control the lives of those around them by virtue of their association with paramilitaries and the threat of violence. Brigeen, Robert's partner and mother to his children, has joined that campaign and has not had the full opportunity to grieve and to console her children.

It is a tragic fact that the McCartneys are not the first family in Northern Ireland who have had to find the courage to speak out in the face of threats and intimidation in an effort to find out what happened to their loved one. Over the years we have seen campaigns mounted by many families forced to go public in an attempt to seek justice. I am thinking of the Conlon family and their long fight for justice, the Finucanes, whose search for truth continues, the family of Jean McConville and the relatives of all those known as "the disappeared". For many of them the suffering goes on, without knowing who killed their loved one or why or even where the body is buried. I am thinking, too, of the Bloody Sunday families whose efforts over 25 years have at last resulted in a public inquiry.

Although the circumstances of Robert McCartney's death can rightly be considered brutal, cowardly and without justification, the aftermath and the cover-up that ensued compounds the derision and distaste that we feel towards the perpetrators of this horrible crime. I trust that time and the procedures of the criminal justice system will reveal some, if not most, of the truth surrounding the questions that remain over paramilitary involvement in this murder. One thing, however, is clear to everybody. The efficient and ruthless clean-up operation that quickly followed this barbaric attack had all the hallmarks of significant paramilitary involvement. It is difficult to believe that it was confined to one or two errant or "on the edge" members of a particular group. Those involved made it clear to potential witnesses that they were operating under the flag of the IRA.

The cover-up of this crime was meticulous and thoughtful. Potential witnesses were quickly identified and approached by men one would not wish to darken one's door. Behind the scenes and under cover of Sinn Féin denials, efforts went into overdrive to hinder, block and interrupt any police attempt to quickly apprehend the suspects involved. Youths filled the streets and rained missiles on approaching police vehicles and personnel, allegedly in response to a heavy-handed police operation.

The feelings of the McCartney family were overlooked at this time by those too concerned with their own survival. They were unaware of the backlash their efforts would provoke and unprepared for the response of the McCartney family and the good people of Short Strand. This intimidation, this iron fist, is nothing new to parts of the North of Ireland. For many years it was viewed in some communities as a necessary by-product of the Troubles, and one that had to be tolerated for the sake of maintaining the safety of these areas in the absence of a police force supported by the entire community. The seeds were sown at this time and nurtured by men and groups whispering promises of security and peace of mind to fearful residents. These promises will no longer receive a welcoming ear as they have ultimately proved to be nothing more than a means to an end for those who benefit from this heavy-handed control of small communities on both sides of the religious divide in the North of Ireland.

By all accounts, Robert was killed in an attack provoked by a grudge. No claim has been made that it had anything to do with republican objectives. These individuals, who call themselves republicans, have a grip on the community and people live in fear and terror. That must end. It is with the courage of those like the McCartney family that we will hopefully see the beginning of the end of fear in these communities, where justice is denied.

One of the most encouraging aspects of the McCartney's campaign is their determination to seek justice for their brother through the courts, in co-operation with the PSNI. For too long, paramilitaries on both sides of the divide have meted out their own form of justice through punishment attacks, beatings, knee-cappings, so-called "Padre Pio" attacks and the exiling of trouble makers or those who dared to cross them. The McCartney family have been particularly courageous in not accepting this form of justice. Their reaction to the IRA's expulsion of three of its members was to say that it was not enough, and they have asked about the other nine suspected of involvement. This is the attitude needed to stand up to the paramilitaries, criminals and those who try to control a community through fear. What was once seen by some as the protection of those who were unable to protect themselves has now become the exploitation of a responsibility and a trust that was once the republican movement's greatest ally.

The inability of the IRA to recognise the wish of all the people of this island since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 has left their credibility in tatters. More importantly, it has signalled a change in public attitude that the republican movement realises it must address to restore the confidence of those who have long supported its political ambitions as a legitimate and worthy alternative to armed force. The questions are now being asked and satisfaction must be had with what is received in response.

As Members of this House are all too aware, those seeking to take the road of moral responsibility and civic duty over gangsterism and financial benefit have experienced serious intimidation at the hands of those opposed to the reforms taking place in the North of Ireland. For some time this burden has primarily been borne by Nationalist and independent members of the policing board and the district policing partnerships, who have been subjected to a vicious and sustained campaign against their democratic right to represent their communities. These people are doing their civic duty by working to bring about acceptable, representative policing in their local areas, and by working alongside the policing board to ensure local policing needs are identified and met for the greater good of everyone in their community. However, because of this, they have experienced deplorable and cowardly intimidation from those seeking to undermine the progress made in policing. It is a testament to the courageous individuals on the partnerships that these attacks have served to reinforce their resolve to carry out their civic duty.

In a similar vein, the McCartney family has demonstrated integrity in the face of the intimidating tactics of those who wish to bring nothing more to their communities than chaos and despair in defence of their own interests. The courageous decision of the SDLP and other Nationalists to take their places on the policing board and local partnerships has been vindicated beyond doubt by the progress towards the new policing arrangements that were clearly set out in the Agreement, namely, a professional and effective police service which carries out its duties fairly and impartially, is free from partisan political control, is accountable under the law and to the communities it serves, is representative of those same communities and acts in accordance with the highest human rights standards. There are other examples of families taking risks, overcoming decades of mistrust and displaying their willingness to work with the police in an attempt to bring the killers of their loved ones to justice.

To be successful, these efforts require new attitudes on the part of the PSNI. It must show, and is attempting to show, that it can be trusted by both sides of the community to carry out its duties professionally and impartially. I am reminded of the case of Sean Brown, a great GAA man and a pillar of his community. In 1997 he was abducted from outside the GAA club in Bellaghy, County Derry, driven to a lonely location some miles away and shot six times. While the RUC launched a full-scale murder investigation and a number of suspects were arrested and interviewed, no one was brought to account. When the police ombudsman later found that the investigation into Sean Brown's death had not been "efficiently and properly carried out", the PSNI accepted this assessment and immediately offered a new police inquiry. Despite misgivings, the Brown family agreed to co-operate with the new investigation, subject to certain conditions. The re-investigation is ongoing and the family continues to co-operate with the police and to urge the community to do so as well.

What is important now is that all who have influence, including Sinn Féin, create that atmosphere in which the rule of law is upheld and respected. For too long, the people have lived under the smothering tactics of ruthless paramilitary gangs who spread decay throughout their communities. For too long, the iron fist has held the upper hand through force and the threat of force. It is time for the message to be relayed loud and clear to those who seek to continue this abuse of trust. The McCartney family and the people of Short Strand have taken a courageous step.

Mr. Rabbitte

I wish to share time with Deputy Crawford.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Mr. Rabbitte

The provisional republican movement has finally been confronted with reality of its present position: promises hedged, delayed and broken; a ten year history of claiming ownership of the peace process while never coming to terms with the demands imposed by peace; a history of valuing the process more than the peace; and a still unfolding history of denial, prevarication and deceit.

When the two Governments announced that the only remaining obstacle to a lasting and durable settlement was the ongoing paramilitary and criminal activity of the IRA, it reacted with outraged and injured innocence. By making such an allegation, it stated, the Governments had undermined the whole basis of the peace process. What in God's name could the IRA have meant by that assertion, that the whole basis of the peace process is that the IRA is exempt, that it alone is not obliged to keep the peace or that it could still reign supreme in its fantasy island, Easter Monday, Thirty-two County republic, immune from our laws and the rule of law?

The Governments have had more than enough of this. They have insisted on a fundamental change of direction, a turning point. Peace is not a bargaining chip to be placed on and then taken off the table, with the hint that it might reappear in the next round or in the round after next in return for the fulfilment of yet another set of yet-to-be-finalised demands. This time it is different. Outraged denial no longer works because this time it is not just the Governments that have spoken, or all the other parties on this island, but the voice of the communities the IRA is pledged to support and defend, the people the IRA wants to portray as vulnerable communities within enclaves, encircled by enemies and in need of IRA protection. These people have risen. They have, in the words of Pearse, been harried and held, bullied and bribed by tyrants, hypocrites and liars. They are sick and tired of it. However, their oppressor is not the British but the IRA itself.

What these people want is justice, not the mock justice of a self-styled court martial or the alternative system of community justice of Gerry Kelly and his sinister henchmen, delivered in back alleys and under cover of darkness, or the sort of community justice that, for example, in 2003 had one of Deputy Crowe's election workers abducted in Dublin and taken to south Armagh where he was tortured, tried by the IRA and shot in both ankles for what was described as freelance fundraising. What the McCartney family and the people of the Short Strand want is a police investigation, a Crown prosecution and a trial in a court of law. They want the freedom to give evidence in public against those who have so grievously wronged them. They want normal lives, rules and freedoms, freedom from the demands of swaggering louts and wide boys, and all those other parasites who thrive on abnormality, crisis and fear. They want exactly what the two Governments want, an end to the crimes of paramilitaries who consider themselves to be untouchable, to be beyond the claims of conscience, the reach of the law and the judgment of their neighbours.

The recent statements from the IRA and Sinn Féin demonstrate some belated realisation of the rebellion it is now facing. Those statements came about only because of the huge personal courage of members of the McCartney family and their absolute determination to see Robert McCartney's killers brought to justice. The IRA in its statement has disowned intimidation and threats to any person who wishes to help the family and it urges the men responsible to come forward and to "take responsibility for their actions as the McCartney family have asked" which can only mean or, perhaps I should say, should only mean that they hand themselves over to the PSNI.

Whatever about the outcome of this investigation, in the longer term the real test of the IRA's bona fides will be if they fully and completely release communities in Northern Ireland from the thuggish hold they have exerted for far too long. The IRA must decommission its arms now and cease all its illegal activities. Unless and until it delivers on this, Sinn Féin cannot participate on an equal basis with other political parties because it is the political wing of a movement that retains, maintains support for and is in turn sustained by an organised criminal, paramilitary wing.

The Sinn Féin leadership is in a position that it cannot credibly maintain any longer, let alone into the indefinite future. On the one hand it points to its democratic mandate and insists that it neither has, nor has control of, guns. On the other hand it is more than happy in its internal forums to assert its military credentials. As Sinn Féin's then and current vice president Pat Doherty put it when he described the Sinn Féin leadership to the 1986 Ard Fheis:

They were the people who, along with others, were doing all the things that were required to be done on the ground at local level during the years 1969 to 1975. They were the people who after the disastrous 1975 truce moved into middle leadership and national leadership and started to pick up the pieces and push the movement forward once again. They are the people who moved into the Sinn Féin leadership from 1980 to the present, and have led Sinn Féin to various electoral propaganda successes. What I am saying is that the present leadership did not drop out of the sky in the last few months but have always been in our organisation. There are no long rifles or armchair generals among them. They have always led from the front. Some of them come from the war zone, others come from, and work day and night throughout, the 26 counties.

Pat Doherty went on to endorse "armed struggle in the six counties, in pursuance of British withdrawal, and political struggle throughout the whole 32 counties, in pursuance of the Republic". In other words, Danny Morrisson's message repeated, an armalite in one hand and a ballot box in the other, with the political and military wings united in a common task under a common leadership.

This is the same Pat Doherty who was charged by the Sinn Féin leadership with the task of producing a new party constitution, to be debated and adopted by its Ard Fheis this month. When we are eventually permitted to see it, we will know just how much that party has moved from a position where its delegates renewed their allegiance every year to the IRA Army Council as the sole legitimate government, administering "the civil and military affairs of the Republic in trust for the people" to one of acceptance of the lawfulness and validity of the institutions of this State and its Constitution, of the status of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom and of the institutions of government established under the Good Friday Agreement.

Whether it formally accepts that, unless and until the people decide otherwise, those democratic institutions of government have the sole and exclusive entitlement to the allegiance of the Irish people, as they have whether it finally accepts that the Good Friday Agreement is addressed specifically to Sinn Féin, and imposes particular obligations on that party when it requires all participants to reaffirm their commitment to the total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations, to confirm their intention to continue to work constructively and in good faith with the independent commission and to use any influence they may have to achieve the decommissioning of arms within two years.

Gerry Adams says he will no longer be used as a conduit by the Governments in negotiations with the IRA. This is disingenuous rubbish. Why on earth else does he think the Governments talk to him? More than once, in quiet times as well as moments of crisis, he has hinted that he could not alone deliver on decommissioning but that he and his party, alone of all parties, could make the IRA disappear. It is time for him to make good on his promises.

Meantime, what we want and are entitled to get from this Government is consistency. It is not good enough for the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, to claim that the Government parties are completely at one and that there is no disunity or difference of opinion. At the Waterfront in Belfast the Taoiseach told reporters:

The issue of the photographs has not been agreed. Everything else has been agreed. I believe all the other modalities of decommissioning could be agreed, but this is the outstanding question and it is to do with confidence on the one side and the desire on the other side that they not participate in anything that they regard as humiliating.

At the same time the Tánaiste asserted quite bluntly in this House: "It would be wrong to assume that the only outstanding issue is that of photographic verification." Within the past fortnight the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law reform, Deputy McDowell, has not only named members of the Sinn Féin leadership who also serve on the IRA Army Council but has presented them as a single, coherent and united front. At the same time the Taoiseach has insisted that identifying examples of overlapping membership is essentially irrelevant and that Mr. Adams and Mr. McGuinness are doing their best to persuade a so far unpersuaded IRA.

The issue is all the more serious because there is a direct and proactive role for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the Offences against the State Acts 1937 and 1985. Under those Acts, all the property of the IRA, or property held for its use, benefit or purposes, is automatically forfeit to the Minister and is already vested in him by operation of law. If they are within this jurisdiction, the proceeds of the Northern Bank robbery already belong to the Minister and he is charged with statutory responsibility to "take possession of, recover and get in" that money.

It is also within the Minister's power, and not that of the Garda Commissioner or the CAB, to serve on any financial institution in the State a directive requiring that institution to transfer any specified funds to the High Court. He must then defend any legal proceedings that may be brought, within six months, by anyone claiming to be the true owner of those funds. Uniquely, under section 5 of the 1985 Act, an unsworn document setting out the Minister's opinion, an opinion he is rarely slow to share, is admissible evidence in High Court proceedings as to the purpose for which those funds were held. Any opinion he gives will be subject to cross examination as to its basis and his other opinions on related issues will inevitably become subject to similar scrutiny. Given the far reaching consequences of an unsworn statement of the Minister's opinion in such matters, it is vital, first, that his opinion, when expressed, is measured and authoritative and, second, that it is shared by his colleagues in Government, including the Taoiseach. I hope it is.

Mr. Crawford

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I listened with interest to the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party on Sunday as he outlined his thoughts and hopes for the future of Northern Ireland and its relationship with this State. There has been a major change in the attitude of that individual and his party. Prior to the last election in Northern Ireland, they still opposed the Good Friday Agreement but there was a seismic change in his attitude. It was a turning point. Despite the bank raid, other criminal acts and the savage murder of Robert McCartney, he was still talking about the possibilities for the future last Sunday.

We are down to one issue, which is whether the IRA and Sinn Féin are prepared to decommission once for all. I do not refer only to the decommissioning of arms because the decommissioning of minds is also a problem. What we, as reasonably normal people, regard as criminality is not regarded similarly by people in that movement. Last night I attended a meeting of my organisation in north Monaghan and I could not believe what I heard about activities along the Border and the fear felt by people on a regular basis.

There was proof of this in a report in today's edition of The Star. Two people were taken away by up to 15 members of the Provisional IRA. They were accused of something they never did and were abused. They may only have been Travellers but they have a right to move wherever they wish. The report stated, “During the ordeal, the men were beaten with sticks and cudgels, threatened with pistols, tied up and a hood put over their heads. One of them was even slashed with a knife”. Is this the type of justice we want in this country? This incident happened on the border with County Monaghan. The two people were released eventually when they proved their innocence in this kangaroo court and they had to walk to Castleblayney. This incident was not isolated. Similar incidents are taking place and they must be stopped if we are to have peace on this island.

It has been suggested that Robert McCartney suffered because of a knife culture. I am reminded of the death of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. Similar denials and refusals to admit the IRA had anything to with the murder were the order of the day. However, Robert McCartney died while Brendan Devine continues to suffer. He will carry his injuries like many others to his grave. The denial of Robert's murder and the subsequent agreement that the perpetrators should come forward through various means is totally unacceptable. They should come forward to the PSNI, whether through a solicitor or other means, and there is public support for that, even in the Short Strand.

The efficient and ruthless clean-up following the murder was unbelievable. Who ordered the deaths of Robert McCartney and Brendan Devine, given that it was through God's grace that he did not die? Who ordered the clean-up to ensure there would not be evidence or witnesses? That is why it is so important that the motion should have unanimous support and that the only place justice should be administered against the perpetrators is in court. There should be only one army and one police force, the Garda, and we should all commit ourselves to that if we believe in democracy.

The refusal of Sinn Féin to join the policing board in Northern Ireland begs one to ask what the party has to hide and whether it wants to continue down the road of criminality. I commend the SDLP for joining the board and I beg Sinn Féin to do so and to commit itself to the motion. The party should also give full support to Robert McCartney's family who have been absolutely outstanding and courageous.

Debate adjourned.