Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It shows the level of folly of the Taoiseach's Government in putting on the table the issue of the early release of the killers of Detective Garda McCabe. The Taoiseach confirmed last week that the matter had been taken off the table. In the context of his comments about the re-commencement of negotiations, is the Taoiseach saying there will be no further negotiations with Sinn Féin until such time as criminality is ended or a statement of intent to end criminality is made by that party and the Provisional IRA? At issue is an end to smuggling of whiskey, knee-capping, punishment beatings, diesel laundering, confiscation of cigarettes, smuggling of vodka, bank robberies and all the other elements of racketeering and criminality which abound and are driven by the Provisional IRA with, as the Taoiseach says, the knowledge of the leadership of Sinn Féin.

Is the Taoiseach saying there will be no more negotiations with Sinn Féin until it states that criminality is at an end or we see it is at an end or is he just waiting for a statement of intent? When one follows the line of breaches of trust and confidence in the way Sinn Féin has negotiated to date, it strikes me as remarkable that in 2002, as the Special Criminal Court was told yesterday, election posters stating "Sinn Féin, No. 1 Ó Snodaigh" were found along with stun guns and CS gas in the boot of a car. That does not appear to be characteristic of a party intent on following the path of peace and democratic politics. I would like the Taoiseach to be as strong as he was last week in this area. He knows the view of the Fine Gael Party on dealing with criminality in all its forms and on seeing a full conclusion through peaceful, democratic negotiations to the Good Friday Agreement to allow the people of this island, North and South, to get on with the business of living their lives in the manner in which they should be entitled.

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