Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

On respect for the various institutions that have grown out of the Good Friday Agreement which, in turn, grew out of the Sunningdale Agreement 23 years ago, would the Taoiseach share my view that in order for these institutions to consolidate, take root and win affection and support from all sides on this island, and, indeed, the neighbouring island, we need to respect how they function and give them time and space to breathe?

In that respect, can he reassure the House that the Minister for Social Development, Margaret Richie, MLA, did not come under pressure from Iveagh House in the run up to the decision that she courageously took? I ask this because at the SDLP conference a few weekends ago, which was attended by Deputies Crawford and Mansergh, there was a certain sense among many of the SDLP delegates that the level of support she felt she could expect was not evident and the level of pressure brought to bear upon her, through the diplomatic channels of Iveagh House and elsewhere, was less than helpful? All of us now would recognise that the principled stand that she took has, indeed, borne fruit in terms of the UDA announcement, which is welcome.

Notwithstanding the statements by the Provisional IRA and the Sinn Féin leadership in regard to the murder of my namesake, Paul Quinn, his father is reported in today's newspapers as stating that the leadership of Sinn Féin is aware of the identity of some of the perpetrators. I welcome what Deputy Ó Caoláin said in this House, but similar things were said in regard to the murder of Robert McCartney, and similar exhortations were made to the public by the leadership of Sinn Féin yet, effectively, co-operation has not been delivered on the ground. That was the tenor of the reported remarks of Paul Quinn's father in today's newspapers.

Does the Taoiseach have a view on consolidating the institutions in Northern Ireland so that the larger community there can give full support to it and does not feel in any way threatened, as it has done in the past? Likewise, if renegade former republicans who are known to their colleagues in Sinn Féin are now engaging in the kind of brutal criminality and murder we have seen, what comment does the Taoiseach have to make in order to ensure those unrepresentative and now criminal groups are exposed to the full rigour of citizen scrutiny and reports to both the Garda and the PSNI?

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