John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I echo previous speakers in welcoming the Minister to the House this evening for this important debate and I congratulate him on his recent speech, The Challenge to our Republican Values. I am sorry that it was not published in full by our newspapers. I encourage Members and the public to read it because it is a history lesson which all Irish people should take on board and study very carefully.

Moving on to the motion before us this evening I do not apologise for statements I have made in the past, inside and outside this House, on my views with regard to the killing of Jerry McCabe and my views of Sinn Féin and the IRA. I come from a somewhat different position from other Members because I was a member of the Defence Forces for 21 years during which I spent much time in the late 1970s and the 1980s, travelling between Portlaoise Prison and the Special Criminal Court. I also spent time on the Border and travelling from there to the Special Criminal Court. I do not apologise for having an affiliation and a bond with my colleagues who wore the uniforms of this State or for having been a commissioned officer in its one legitimate Army. I do not, never have nor will recognise the legitimacy of any alternative army.

Tonight's motion raises several questions. The Government has a responsibility to negotiate but those of us speaking on the motion do so from a limited knowledge. We do not have the security briefings or intelligence information that people in the office of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform or in Cabinet may have. Likewise the Minister must accept that we are speaking from the knowledge that is available to us, whereas he is speaking with greater knowledge. The atrocity in Adare on 7 June 1996 was not caused by a stray bullet. One cannot qualify a death by the number of bullets used. Whether it is one bullet or 14, the man is dead in the eyes of his family and colleagues. There are very precise rules of engagement with firearms and in shooting that are honoured and respected by those who carry weapons. To walk up behind a police car and unleash a volley from a Kalashnikov set to automatic defies all rules of engagement. That is massacre; it is indiscriminate shooting. This was not a ricochet, a loose bullet or a return of fire. The IRA statement on the day was that none of its volunteers or units was in any way involved in the incident in Adare, that there was absolutely no IRA involvement. Mr. Adams denounced the killing of Jerry McCabe as totally and absolutely wrong. He indignantly attacked those who sought to link Sinn Féin to the killing. Two days later, the IRA admitted responsibility. Having done so, it then set about undermining the justice system in the State by intimidating witnesses. One witness served 18 months in prison for contempt of court rather than give evidence. We should not forget this.

I have a difficulty with the fact that Pearse McAuley, who was involved in this incident, was only 12 months out of Portlaoise Prison at the time. Those involved have shown absolutely no remorse for their actions on that day. One of the first steps in reconciliation is a show of remorse. What we have is the glorification of the act and the manufacturing of bodhráns signed by the McCabe killers for export to the United States. Sinn Féin Members of the Oireachtas have posed with the killers for photographs.