Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

As I stated, the only criminals I know in this case are those who murdered Mr. Paul Quinn. We all agree on this point. Deputy Kenny will accept and appreciate that there is considerable anecdotal evidence about his murder and many comments have been made. Our own contacts have made comments to me. I can only base my view on the findings of the Garda investigation, which has not given me reason to say any more than what I have said.

The official position is that there is no information available to me from the Garda Commissioner to suggest that this attack was authorised or sanctioned by the IRA and this remains the position. As I said when last speaking about criminality, the crime in question does not arise from paramilitary activity, nor was it sanctioned or condoned by the republican movement. This remains the position of the Garda investigating officers and that is the information given to us officially and restated officially in advance of the Ministers' meetings with the Quinn family yesterday and tomorrow.

A few murders of this kind over the past few years — I am thankful that there have not been too many, although one is one too many — have led to an enormous number of questions and to tension. From our perspective, we listen carefully and methodically to what the Garda tells us about anecdotal evidence. The Garda's position on the murder of Mr. Paul Quinn remains the same and, if it changes, I will obviously inform the House.

Deputy Kenny will know we have taken a strong line on the Varney report over the past two years and have supported the efforts of the various business communities of all traditions in the North working collectively which have made a coherent case to the British Government to lower their tax liability in the interest of business and direct investment in Northern Ireland. We are all familiar with the arguments of the British Government, particularly over the past 18 months. The Varney report did not achieve as much as we wanted it to achieve but it has recommended that there be a reduced state sector in the North and North-South trade investments. Issues of science and research would have to be addressed.

There are some worthy initiatives in the Varney report, but not the one that the business groups would want. We must explore all the recommendations of the report to determine how they can help. When I discussed this issue with the UK Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, on Friday afternoon, he said aspects of the report would lead to further examination and discussion. He was obviously aware of its content but did not disclose this fully to me. I obviously stated I would welcome further discussion and that we would continue to support the very coherent business case that has been put by the people in Northern Ireland.

As I have stated many times, both in the United States and Europe, the island of Ireland is a small place. It is as easy for our agencies to project a positive image of the whole island in order to attract investment and promote tourism and the export of goods as it is to project a positive image of part of the island. Our position since the Good Friday Agreement, under which we offered to establish one industrial development authority and one tourism authority, remains the same, which is to promote these activities in every way possible. We will continue to do that. It is not to say that I do not understand the arguments of the British Government about these issues, but I still think the arguments we put forward are better when trying to generate investment, employment and better relations in Northern Ireland.

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