Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I thank the Deputy for raising this important and pressing issue. The Minister regrets that he cannot be present for this debate but, as the House will understand, he is in Belfast attending the roundtable talks that are addressing the challenges posed by the continuing impact and legacy of paramilitarism.

The Minister agrees with the Deputy that the assessment of various paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland by the British Government as well as the Garda Commissioner's assessment of the status and profile of the Provisional IRA, both of which were published yesterday, make for sobering reading. The assessments raise issues that are of grave concern, issues such as the existence of illegal organisations and command structures, access to weaponry and widespread criminality. Every Deputy would agree that these have no place in our democracy. They never did.

The Taoiseach made the Government's position clear when he spoke in Cambridge last month. He stated that we needed clear lines, not blurred lines, between constitutional politics and criminality and that there could be no shared platforms or strategies, no shady grey areas between right and wrong. He made it clear that, 21 years after the IRA and loyalist ceasefires and ten years after decommissioning and the IRA announcement of a cessation of paramilitary activity, it was past time that paramilitarism should carry any capacity for threat.

It is important to note that the assessments conclude that these paramilitary organisations no longer represent a terrorist threat and that a threat is only posed by dissident groups that are the enemies of peace in Northern Ireland. The assessments none the less present a complex and challenging profile of the unacceptable residual activities of various groups in Northern Ireland that are damaging to communities and must be addressed. The issue of associated criminality and the involvement of those linked with paramilitary groups in organised crime is highlighted by the assessments. The Garda and the PSNI will continue working closely together to combat criminality in all its forms on both sides of the Border.

The British assessment and that of the Garda Commissioner underscore the critical importance of the ongoing talks process in Northern Ireland. A key element of these talks, in addition to the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, is to address the impact and legacy of paramilitarism. It is hoped that complementary assessments will provide fresh momentum to the talks process.

The political reaction to the assessments has been calm and measured. The Northern Ireland parties have maturely acknowledged the challenges and seem intent on addressing them. The stance taken by the First Minister and the fact that the DUP has resumed its seats in the Northern Ireland Executive are to be particularly welcomed.

Twenty-one years after the first paramilitary ceasefires, the transition to a fully normalised society in Northern Ireland must be progressed. Therefore, the Government continues to encourage all parties to seize the opportunity of the talks and to redouble their efforts to bring an end to the remaining blight of paramilitarism in communities and agree outcomes that provide a lasting peace and political stability in Northern Ireland. This is nothing more than what the people of this island deserve. For his part, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade will continue to engage with all of the parties in Northern Ireland in order to address these issues and preserve the peace and stability that has been so hard won.

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