Seanad debates
Wednesday, 23 October 2002
Northern Ireland: Statements.
The Minister did not refer to the recent spate of incidents and alleged incidents in Northern Ireland and in the State about which we are concerned. I refer to the recent incident in County Wicklow where, I understand, five men were arrested by the Garda in connection with incidents there. I also refer to the ongoing punishment beatings and shootings by loyalist and republican communities and the Stormont arrests, although they were ham-fisted. Would we accept it if the Progressive Democrats, the minority party in government, sent to another organisation transcripts of a conversation between the leader of the Government and another of its members? We would not. We would not accept any party in government handing over to third parties confidential information, such as the names, addresses and telephone numbers of prison officers in Northern Ireland or anywhere else. Depending on the information which comes before the courts, these worrying incidents seem to have occurred. If the IRA has been put out of business, why were four members convicted in a US court on gun running charges in September 2000?
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