Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

For a long time, Deputy Kenny has decided to be in favour of the Good Friday Agreement but to oppose everything that comes out of it. It is a tactic he has pursued for 12 months. In 1998, we were very clear that certain prisoners would be released. The only exceptions to those prisoner releases were the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe and those who injured Detective Garda Ben O'Sullivan. We said we would deal with this issue as part of a total act of completion but not otherwise. There is quite a number of people who murdered gardaí. The families of those gardaí have had to go through the trauma associated with this and they accepted we would release those prisoners in 1998 and 1999.

The participation of Northern MPs on a cross-party basis in the Houses of the Oireachtas was documented in a report compiled by the House, including Fine Gael Members, in 2001. It was debated in the House and agreed to by the then leader of the Fine Gael Party. I resent the Deputy's continual accusation that these are part of some secret deal. Neither of those issues was part of a secret deal.

The issue of on-the-runs was part of the discussions which took place prior to the Weston Park talks, was agreed there and was part of the Joint Declaration in 2003. The legal basis was not worked out then. That is the only point on which Deputy Kenny is correct. It is a matter of course for each jurisdiction to bring forward proposals to deal with the issue within their own legislative or constitutional frameworks.

The House is aware the Government intends to deal with these cases by advising the President to use her powers under Article 13.6 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. An eligibility body will be established to determine whether individuals are qualifying persons, subject to the condition that the person is not affiliated to or supports an organisation that is not maintaining a complete and unequivocal ceasefire. The eligibility body will submit its findings to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who in turn will submit the cases to the Government, with a view to recommending to the President that her powers under Article 13.6 of the Constitution be used. It is implicit that in the operation of such a scheme, in each case the eligibility board, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and, ultimately, the Government must be satisfied that these arrangements should apply. I have a longer note on the matter, effectively the Attorney General's advice, which I would be glad to forward to the Deputy.

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