Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

However, I hope he will not follow the example of the recently retired David Blunkett and some of the illiberal policies being pursued across the water. Historically, it is true Ireland had limited internment for certain periods, but it did not involve torture.

Recently, I again watched Robert Bolt's film of Sir Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons. More is asked by one of his acolytes if it would be right to suspend the law in pursuit of the devil. He replies that it would not as there then would be no protection against the devil. I am happy with the civil liberties provisions, contained in section 6(5), that make clear that legitimate protests of various kinds are not covered by the Bill. Similarly, I appreciate the section which states that those struggling against what everyone would call a tyranny are not deemed terrorists. Were von Stauffenberg and those who placed the bomb under Hitler's table terrorists by our definition? Clearly not.

Senator Henry referred to the question of hostages which has a domestic dimension considering the horrifying experience of the recent bank raid and also in the case of Margaret Hassan. I am glad that the Tipperary Peace Prize has been awarded posthumously to her. It is right that there is a distaste about the way in which Jean McConville was murdered. There is a strong suspicion, apart from every other evil aspect of it, that it had a sectarian dimension.

The biggest contribution that Ireland can make is to ensure that paramilitaries and terrorism disappear from our shores. Much progress has been made which has inspired other countries. Spain and the Basque country, although the situations are different, closely follow what happens in the Northern Ireland peace process. We have the potential to set an example. Our experience is not a recent problem. The truth is that the legacy of the War of Independence and Civil War period — I would in principle be supportive of the legitimacy of the War of Independence — lasted throughout the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Detective Inspector Curtin was shot dead at the gates of the house in which I live in Tipperary, which was let when my father was young, and he breathed his last in the study where I work.

There have been persistent statements and innuendo from people critical of the Government and the way it has conducted both the peace process and its security that, out of consideration for people, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Garda and so on are soft on those who engage in paramilitary activity. I am sure the Minister will have no difficulty stating clearly and unequivocally that the gardaí are neither hampered nor discouraged in any way from pursuing those involved in crime and terrorism.

Crises can be beneficial. The assassination of Kevin O'Higgins brought Fianna Fáil into the Dáil in 1927 within approximately one month. We are probably at such a crisis now because there has been ample time and an ample transition period to deal with this issue. The time has come for an unequivocal commitment to democracy by everyone. Let us remember that modern republicanism in Ireland started with the Society of the United Irishmen, which began as a democratic constitutional organisation. Things went wrong because democracy at that time was equated with subversion. It is time to get back to democratic principles.