David Norris (Independent)

I support the call for a debate on violence in the North of Ireland. It is important to remember that people in Sinn Féin really do seem to be moving. I listened two nights ago to a senior Sinn Féin representative on Vincent Browne's programme. He was asked the very direct question whether he would like to see arms taken out of the situation now. He answered "Yes" with uncharacteristic directness. He was also asked whether he would like the IRA to disband now and answered "Yes" with the same uncharacteristic directness. That demonstrates to me that Sinn Féin is really attempting to move towards full democracy, and that should be encouraged. However, it is very difficult to disentangle people from the paramilitaries, because they have their hooks into illegal drugs and all those other activities. It will be a very complicated task to remove them from the equation.