Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Let us talk about what is happening on the ground up there. When the two British soldiers were killed and when the two PSNI officers were separately killed, the Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness, MLA, came out and stood shoulder to shoulder with the First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, MLA, and the Chief Constable of the PSNI. He made it clear that it was unacceptable, that those days were done and that everybody had to come out and support the peace process. The difficulty is that elements of unionism have not been as forthright as that in this situation. They have their own reasons for that and I am being very measured in how I put this. The five political leaders did not meet, as we know. I know the First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, MLA, relatively well and he has his own reasons for all of this. He has a slightly different position and, unfortunately, that feeds into what is happening on the ground. What is happening in the ground is significant because it is blatantly sectarian. An Irish League soccer match over the weekend between two local teams, Crusaders and Cliftonville, had to be called off because these protesters went directly to that ground to foment sectarian trouble. Great credit is due to the two clubs which showed real anti-sectarianism by bringing all their supporters together. Unfortunately, sport suffered. Similarly protesters are quite blatantly and deliberately going to the Short Strand.

We all think of the marching season as a summer spectacle, but it is going to start at the end of this month and will again go to areas that are vulnerable. There is urgency about dealing with this and there is a need to work intelligently with the leaders of unionism and all of those great Unionists who do not want anything to do with this. Regardless of the position they have on the flag issue, they are certainly opposed to what is happening in terms of the violence and sectarianism.

On the issue of Ms Marian Price, the Taoiseach said it is difficult to know what to do. There is a straightforward rule. If a citizen is to be accused of an offence, that citizen should be brought forward and subjected to due process - sin é. Ms Marian Price has not been subjected to due process. Whatever has been said against her has been said in secret - she cannot even hear it. It is back to the old days of internment, commissions and all the rest of it. I spent one and a half years in prison - in both a prison ship and in a cage - on that basis. It is easy to know what to do, with respect. If they want to keep these individuals in prison, let them go through due process or let the rest of us demand that they be released forthwith.

See this speech in context