Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

The killing of Robert McCartney has left a family without a father, a son and a brother and this terrible loss must be acknowledged. He was an innocent man having a drink with his friend, Brendan Devine, and he should have been able to go home to his family when the pub closed. Instead, he was systematically stabbed, cut open like a gutted fish, brutally kicked in the head and left to die. This barbaric act was carried out by known members of the provisional movement who proceeded to lock the doors of the pub, instruct those inside not to call an ambulance and set about removing every piece of evidence to cover up their bloody trail as Robert McCartney lay dying in an alleyway.

If this killing had been carried out by a loyalist gang, Sinn Féin spokespeople would have been first to demand justice but the butchers of the Short Strand belong to their organisation and Sinn Féin and the IRA tried to cover up the truth by pretending this was nothing more than a drunken brawl. They denied involvement until the pressure built to such a point that denial was fruitless.

The provisional movement has been forced to give ground for weeks in the face of the dignified grief and implacable courage of Robert McCartney's sisters — Paula, Gemma, Catherine, Donna, Clare — and his partner, Bridgeen. I pay tribute to these ordinary women who have become extraordinary out of their tragedy. They inspire in all of us hope for the future of Northern Ireland. Their bravery has triumphed over those whom they rightly describe as "psychopaths with power". Justice has not been delivered to them yet but there is an imperative about the righteousness of their cause.

They will not give up their quest for justice and they are not alone. The community in the Short Strand is standing with them both in their sorrow and in their struggle for human rights. Last night the democratically elected members of Belfast City Council stood with them and tonight we, the democratic community of Dáil Éireann, also stand with them.

The provisional movement has for so long held sway in communities such as the Short Strand but it is under pressure. Following all the punishment beatings, intimidation, exiling, extortion and other criminality, the claim of being the protector of this community, which the IRA has made for years, has finally been exposed for what it is, a lie. There is no justification for the ongoing existence of the IRA and no case whatsoever for an armed conspiracy that shelters within its ranks the murderers of Robert McCartney. No matter what claims its members make, they are not the defenders of nationalist communities.

The record shows that the IRA has killed more people than the combined forces of the UDA, UFF, UVF, RUC and the British Army. It is estimated that more than 400 Catholics died at the hands of the IRA. The recent revelations by Richard O'Rawe about the H-Block hunger strike and the role of the army council show that when it comes to its own members, the IRA has acted with breathtaking callousness. Men died on hunger strike, according to O'Rawe, because Gerry Adams, on behalf of the army council, prevented them from accepting a deal offered by the British Government. History may judge that revelation in the future but history is being made by the McCartney family, who have challenged all of us to confront the role, purpose and methods of the provisional movement. There is an obligation on us to support them in every way we can until the killers of their brother are brought to justice.

People are not only fearful about going to the PSNI. When Robert McCartney and his friend were attacked in Magennis's bar on 30 January and the subsequent events took place, fear of the thugs, not the PSNI, stopped people from calling an ambulance. Until that fear is confronted, as it has been by the McCartney family, it will be extremely difficult to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

This is a test of the provisional movement and I urge its members to live up to the test. Others have done it previously. Most parties in this Parliament have been associated with violence in the past. This is the time for Sinn Féin to move forward. There are decent members in Sinn Féin who are deeply disturbed by what has happened and that it has not been resolved. There is still fear of retaliation, intimidation and thuggery among the community in the Short Strand, not fear of the PSNI. This is understandable when one considers what has happened not only in Belfast but in other parts of Northern Ireland.

See this speech in context