David Norris (Independent)

One must always listen with respect to what Senator Mansergh says on these matters because he has been close to the events. If he says there has been contact with the family of Detective Garda McCabe, one has to put that into the balance. However, I clearly heard the widow of Detective Garda McCabe on the wireless yesterday saying she had received no contact. Who does one believe? If a woman in that position says this, I must take it into account, with the greatest respect to the Senator.

I know difficult decisions must be made and that people must lose out, which is desperately sad. Yesterday we heard from Senator Maurice Hayes with regard to the parallel case in Northern Ireland. However, one must consider the human management of the situation and my clear impression is that the Government did not handle this well. If one wants to take this kind of difficult decision, one must bring all the people with one, particularly those centrally involved. I cannot believe this has properly happened in this regard.

Judgment was arrived at on Wednesday last in the case of Ms Mary Kelly. She walked free from the court, although she received a two-year suspended sentence. It was an extraordinary case in that the political context was completely ruled out, Ms Kelly was not allowed to refer to Iraq and the evidence of the former Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Ramsey Clark, was not entertained. In addition, the clear precedent of the Trident Ploughshares anti-nuclear women protesters, who in a directly similar case were completely exonerated by a British jury, was not entertained. One does not question the competence of the court but the context raises some questions.