Michael McCarthy (Labour)

With regard to the issue the Leader of the Opposition raised, it is clear the Government has participated in underhand negotiations with the republican movement about the possible release of the killers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. Everybody in this island was outraged at the cold blooded and brutal manner in which Detective Garda McCabe was murdered on that fateful morning in Adare in 1996 by members of the IRA. It is, to say the least, disappointing to discover through the BBC that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Taoiseach were party to negotiations that could have possibly resulted in the early release of those prisoners.

There is a number of things wrong with this proposal. First, it undermines the Good Friday Agreement. The Taoiseach explicitly stated in the Lower House in 1999 that these people would not qualify for early release in the context of the early release programme under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Second, in 1999, the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, wrote as follows to the detective's widow:

I hope that what I said at the meeting provided you with assurance that there is no question of granting early release to those concerned, either under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement or, for that matter, on any other basis either. I want to assure you now, formally and in writing, that the Government's position, right from the beginning, was that the men concerned are not covered by the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and that their transfer to Castlerea will have no bearing whatsoever on the question of early release. They will serve their time in Castlerea just as they would have in Portlaoise.

It is an affront to the memory of Detective Garda McCabe and a profound insult to the family to get a written commitment from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and many verbal commitments from the Taoiseach that these people would not be released only to discover from the BBC last Friday that this is exactly what the Government was planning to do. It is unspeakable. This was not contained in the programme for Government and the expressed views of the Taoiseach and Ministers in this regard could not have been clearer. I share the anger expressed in the House today and call on those responsible for these underhand consultations to come to the House to debate this sensitive and important issue.

I am aware the House debated the disabilities issue recently but a statement from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform yesterday confirmed that some of the measures needed in the disabilities Bill and which have been sought by the Opposition and disabilities rights groups will not be included. Will the Leader exert as much pressure as possible on the relevant Minister to ensure the Bill is published before the European and local elections? There is a presumption in some quarters that the proposed Bill will not go any further than the Disabilities Bill that was shelved prior to the 2002 general election. The Bill should be published before the elections.