David Norris (Independent)

It is a pity she is not, because I would say it to her face. We will erase her name; I wish I could. However, torture is still carried on in Northern Ireland.

The McCabe murder was murder. The killers got away with the charge of manslaughter because they intimidated the witnesses, which is a disgrace and should not be tolerated in this country. They pumped shots into the two gardaí while they were strapped into their car. I saw the reprinted photograph in the newspaper the other day. Those gardaí did not have any chance whatsoever. Imagine the thoughts in their minds as a brute approached and fired shot after shot at them to kill them. The IRA then lied and said the killers were not attached to it and that it was not an official action. Now, however, it claims them.

It is appropriate to ask a question which was asked very cogently by Vincent Browne on his programme the other evening. Is being a member of the IRA sufficient reason to get off any charge? The action that involved the killing of Garda Jerry McCabe was just a criminal act, a bank job to fund the pockets of the perpetrators. An excellent point of principle was made by Vincent Browne when he asked whether they would also have got off if they were found and convicted of paedophile rape. That is the question we ought to ask. Vincent Browne did the country a service by asking that question. It underlines the principle involved.