Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to make a short input to this debate. I am happy to support the Private Members' motion. In this debate very few punches have been pulled. There has been tough but fair comment which will clear the air. I welcome the fact that political parties and individuals have aired their views publicly in this House, and elsewhere, in a way I have not heard before.

The central issue is the continuing activity of the IRA and its links to Sinn Féin. In recent weeks Gerry Adams said the IRA was not involved in the Northern Bank robbery. That statement indicates a link because in order to say that one must know the business of the IRA. That is the situation with which Sinn Féin must deal.

I welcome and applaud Deputy Ó Caoláin's comments this evening. Last week, however, the IRA warned us not to underestimate the seriousness of the situation. Were those remarks addressed to the institutions of this State, the Government, the Garda Síochána, the Army, and more important, to the people who voted for the Good Friday Agreement, who mandated all politicians on the island to proceed to build peace?

The Good Friday Agreement is not an À la carte menu from which we pick and choose. It resembles a structure encompassing the different facets of the agreement, from human rights to policing, from equality to an end to criminality. If any of these supports is removed the structure is in danger of collapse. That is the position now, the structure is unstable. Those who have invested heavily in the process, individuals and parties, well-known and unsung heroes, must make painful choices.

Governments often put structures and mechanisms in place but real peace building——

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