Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

We in Fine Gael regret that Sinn Féin, despite many public announcements about its new attitude to criminality recently, has refused to join the other democratic parties in this House in this motion of solidarity with the McCartney family. Sinn Féin has again opted to isolate and exclude itself. As I see it, it is but a further expression of the cynical approach evidenced by Sinn Féin to the murder from the beginning.

It is utterly dishonest to suggest that there is any comparison between the investigation into the McCartney murder and that into the killing of Seán Brown. It is also dishonest of Gerry Adams to speak of being willing to go to court to help represent those personally involved. He knows full well that the criminal justice system does not operate like that. It is dishonest of Deputy Ó Caoláin to quote Hugh Orde as saying that people can go to third parties. Of course, he left out the vital words "in the first instance". The Deputy saw no point in quoting that in full. That is what we have been getting from Sinn Féin regarding this murder from the beginning.

Everyone in Sinn Féin, this House and the country knows that the McCartney family is entitled to justice, and if they are to get it, witnesses must come forward to make full statements to the investigating authorities and be prepared to give evidence in court. The authority established by law is the PSNI, the body that can investigate who did what, who saw what, who lifted the video recording from the CCTV camera, who conducted the clean-up, who organised it and who participated. Those are the issues that any police authority in any country in the world deals with when there is a murder, especially a brutal one of this sort. It is not acceptable for Sinn Féin to come here tonight with pious platitudes about its support for the McCartney family without being prepared to get behind this motion, which is supported by every democratic party in this House. That exposes it, and one questions its approach to this entire affair.

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