Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

Is the Taoiseach aware that, to this day in both Protestant and Catholic areas, loyalist and republican paramilitary organisations, leaving aside major criminal acts, have a heavy hand on their respective communities, interfering with the democratic rights and free expression of groups and political organisations opposed to them? This is manifested in many invidious ways, even in terms of making it difficult to book community halls for meetings or distribute leaflets freely. The Taoiseach appears to have ignored that in the talks, at least until the time they broke down. I put it to the Taoiseach that his Government and the British Government have been somewhat hypocritical in that they have been quiet on this issue but also on major criminal jobs, for example, the Makro and Gallahers robberies, which many believe were carried out by republicans, because talks were still going on. When they broke down, however, they jumped all over the IRA and Sinn Féin over the Northern Bank job.

In regard to the Northern Bank robbery, there are not many people in Belfast who do not believe the IRA did it, but as a member of the Socialist Party, a small party whose members North and South slog around from door to door in winter and summer to get small amounts of money to fund our political activities, I do not recognise the legitimacy of any group to kidnap and rob to back political activity. Will the Taoiseach agree, however, it is extremely dangerous to go down the road of mere assertion of guilt by senior police officers or indeed the International Monitoring Committee instead of producing proof and is not a precedent with which we want to go forward? Will he agree that proof and evidence should be brought forward, that trial and convictions should follow and that the idea, for political reasons, of assertion of guilt should not become a norm? On the killing of Robert McCartney, those who did that bestial act should be put on trial but can the State guarantee the safety of those who can come forward to give evidence to do that?

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