Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the opportunity to comment on the Bill before us. It transposes into domestic law international obligations we have undertaken as a result of our involvement with the EU and the United Nations. The Minister has been a regular visitor to this House in recent months and I welcome his return.

I will comment later on the domestic situation, on which Senator Minihan commented. I was appalled that a terrorist act in Madrid last year could affect the result of a freely held election in Spain. That is what happened. People who are naive enough not to believe this should look at what happened in Madrid. It was clear that the Partido Popular, led by Jose Maria Aznar, was going to win a third successive victory in the elections. However, in a deliberate terrorist act, a decision was taken to explode bombs in Madrid. This directly affected an election result in a liberal democracy. This took place in a country that is a two hour flight away. If it can happen so easily in Madrid, it can happen in London, France and in Ireland.

We must be conscious that free people can, in a weak moment, decide to change their government as a response to a terrorist act. Listening to the ridiculous commentary at the time, one would have believed that those responsible for the bombing were Jose Maria Aznar and his party. As Senator Minihan said, terrorist organisations, because of new technology and the lack of national borders on such organisations, have a capacity to move seamlessly throughout the world. This is especially so under the freedoms we have worked to achieve, particularly in the European Union.

Throughout the EU because of the freedom of movement of people, we must be cognisant of our obligations under this legislation to ensure every effort is made through Europol and other organisations to harmonise work in this area to identify suspects where they become known. Ireland cannot be neutral on this issue. The State was neutral in the Second World War for an obvious reason, although the 60,000 citizens who joined the allied forces were not neutral when they took a stand against fascism and Naziism in the 1930s and 1930s. I say this on the day we remember the Holocaust. We cannot be neutral on this issue as free people in a free world.

A number of liberals have put forward the assumption that once the Middle East conflict between Palestine and Israel is resolved, the continuous threat of groups such as al-Qaeda will subside. That is utterly naive. The notion that a political settlement will be negotiated which will immediately eradicate international terrorism and address the grievances involved is nonsense. There are fanatics in the world and in this State who should only be dealt with through close co-operation between the police forces of various states.

The British Government's courting of Colonel Gadaffi of Libya, given its knowledge and ours of his support for international terrorism in this State and in Northern Ireland, is pathetic. The Blair Government stands accused. As well meaning as his Government members were in bringing him into the international community, they should hang their heads in shame given what they knew about his exporting of arms to the IRA. I was astonished at the pace of international relations between Britain and Libya given Gadaffi's support for international terrorism for many years not only in Ireland but elsewhere.

Irish Americans should cop on to themselves and acknowledge their contribution to terrorism in this State over many years. Finally the message has got through, thanks to the efforts of people such as Senator Ted Kennedy, that their fundraising to support the IRA down the years has had a dreadful impact in Northern Ireland and this State.

I agree with Senator Minihan's contribution. It is important that the Bill should come before the House today because this week we have finally managed to expose a revolutionary criminal conspiracy on the part of Sinn Féin-IRA to be at the heart of democratic life in this State. Those of us who have taken this line for many years welcome that the entire political establishment has finally woken up to this criminal threat, which comprises a party that alleges to be democratic during the day and a paramilitary organisation at night, free to do everything it wants.

There is a historical precedent in this regard. The Official IRA stated in the early 1970s that it would, once and for all, pursue its politics through the democratic course, that course being a strong socialist model. However, the criminality continued for the next two decades. Racketeering, money laundering and trips to North Korea continued. Will we fall into the same trap with another offspring of the "irregulars", namely, the IRA? The Government and the IRA have been at it ten years and the time has come for the IRA to decide what it is about because it cannot continue.

The Bill transposes international obligations into domestic law. We must think hard about this issue. We have not just got to say difficult things to the IRA; we must do hard things. Efforts must be redoubled to establish where are its arsenals and surveillance must be maintained on its members. There is a perception that because the peace process has been allowed to dominate the agenda, the Government has gone soft on them. How many recent large-scale finds of explosives have there been? As the Taoiseach correctly stated, the IRA can turn it on and off whenever its suits its agenda. There were no punishment beatings in the run up to the talks but since then, there has been a bevy of attacks on young men in Northern Ireland because it suits the IRA's agenda to terrorise and control certain communities in Northern Ireland, which it also wants to do in certain parts of Dublin. If the legislation is taken seriously, there is an obligation on the State to pursue these people and bring their apparatus to an end.

I congratulate the Minister on his performance on "Questions and Answers" recently. I was cheering him to the rafters as I watched. When Mr. McLaughlin asked the Minister whether Bobby Sands was a criminal, he did not hesitate because Mr. Sands was convicted of a crime. He was a criminal and the difference between Mr. Sands and Mrs. Jean McConville was he chose the time of his own death. Mrs. McConville and all the other victims of the IRA had no right to decide when they would die. We must be absolutely clear on this issue.

Unfortunately, in the years gone by, there was an ambivalence to terrorism in the State. For example, in the 1980s the Fianna Fáil Party was in convulsions on the issue of extradition, which is absolutely essential if international obligations are to be met to pass people from one jurisdiction to another to ensure a trial can take place. The Minister did not flinch on that programme and I appreciated that because Mr. Sands was a criminal. He died on hunger strike but it was his own choice, even though it was a terrible tragedy for him and his family. The 1,800 people murdered by the IRA had no choice but he had and he was a criminal. There must be a consistent, direct response, rather than ambivalence.

The Minister should pursue the financing of all paramilitary organisations and terrorism. Senator McHugh referred to this issue. He has evidence of money laundering in County Donegal by a paramilitary political party. It must be closed off if we are serous about this legislation. The Criminal Assets Bureau must also be employed to pursue warlords and close them down. I have received two letters from people in a town in Donegal who allege that legitimate businesses are a front for Sinn Féin-IRA to launder money and to control parts of the town. We are obliged to go after them.

I agree with other speakers in that we must co-operate with all agencies on the island of Ireland in terms of our efforts in these matters. One such matter was recently brought to my attention by the SDLP concerning the electoral returns office in Northern Ireland and our own public offices commission in terms of the scrutiny of expenditure by some political parties during election time.

I am very proud of this State and its parliamentary democracy. Although we are a young State, we are the fourth oldest parliamentary democracy in Europe. We did not experience fascism in the 1930s and 1940s. We held the line. Our great achievement was that by 1932 those who vigorously opposed the State were in Government. This was a great achievement on the part of Éamon de Valera and Fianna Fáil. I regard de Valera as one of the country's great patriots because he immediately closed down the Civil War and the attack against the young State, as it was at that time. We cannot ever take this for granted. We must always defend it and ensure those who have had a clear conspiracy to undermine and overthrow the State since its foundation are vigorously dealt with by the State. The vast majority who want the State to prosper and grow are allowed have that view enunciated by a free Parliament and Government. All of us have a role to play in that regard.