Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

The Minister made reference to the various offences and I found some of those references very insulting in many ways. It is within his remit to accept the amendment which is very specific with regard to political prisoners under the Good Friday Agreement. This is perfectly acceptable, and should be acceptable not only to those in the Minister's party but also in the Labour Party because it also affects them. It affects some people in the Minister's party and in the Labour Party. I do not know how they will vote on not accepting that people covered by the Good Friday Agreement should be exempt under this legislation. I do not know how in conscience they could say it was all right for them in the past but it is not all right now. This is a volte-face by people with a history in republicanism who were part of the struggle that took place on the island.

It is not only the prisoners who served time who are affected. Their families, friends and children are also being penalised. This has happened and continues to do so. The message has come out not only in the South but also in the North and it is a bad message. We are all working very hard to support the St. Andrews Agreement. There seems to be incremental erosion of the Good Friday Agreement and we need to put our foot down. We cannot keep eroding the rights of people who took part in a struggle, many of whom were forced into it through circumstances. I once again plead with the Minister to re-examine this, speak to his colleagues and not make a rash decision. This is very important.

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