Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

There is something very wrong here as words mean much to families in these circumstances. I accept the Taoiseach's statement that in the view of the Government, the late Paul Quinn was not a criminal. It is important to clear up that matter. Words are important because Paul Quinn was murdered and the persons who murdered him sought authorisation to carry out the punishment beating that resulted in his life being taken with iron bars in a shed. In the case of the late Jerry McCabe, for instance, while his death was not authorised by the IRA, according to the statement at the time, the go-ahead was given by an authorised person. In this case, authorisation or permission was sought by a person or persons to carry out a punishment beating on Paul Quinn, and that resulted in his murder.

Based on information available to him from the Garda, the Army or the PSNI, is it the Taoiseach's view that the persons who authorised that punishment beating, that is, the murder of Paul Quinn, were members of the IRA or, in their granting of this dastardly authorisation, that they still constitute that body? There was a huge reaction to this murder, not only by the family for whom it caused great trauma, but also because of the perception of the damage it could do to the ongoing peace process, which everyone supports. Is it the Taoiseach's view that the person or persons who gave that authorisation were members of the IRA or still constitute a group that represents what the IRA stood for? While I know this is a difficult point, Paul Quinn lies dead as a consequence.

The British Government has rejected the equalisation of corporate tax rates North and South. Although we talk about an economic entity for the island of Ireland, Sir David Varney's report published yesterday stated that this is not the way forward. What is the Taoiseach's view on that? First Minister Paisley and Deputy First Minister McGuinness visited the United States to make a case for foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland. Obviously a much higher rate of corporate tax will make doing so less feasible than in the South. When referring to the development of the economic entity of Ireland in the future, is it not feasible to suggest that from an economic perspective, such foreign direct investment on the island of Ireland from a country as great as the United States would be very much enhanced by having an equivalent rate of corporate tax North and South?

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