Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Rafferty family to the Chamber and applaud their courage and conviction in seeking justice for the death of Joseph Rafferty. Many of us in this Chamber come from a very proud republican past, from the real Sinn Féin. We in Fine Gael, as in Fine Fáil, look forward to celebrating the real 100 years of Sinn Féin. My grandfather James Feely was a Sinn Féin councillor who was imprisoned during the War of Independence. He joined the Army after the ceasefire and retired as a member of the Garda. I believe he did the State some service. At that time people made a transition from freedom fighters to people who uphold the law. What Sinn Féin must do now is uphold the law in this country. I applaud the major announcement weheard this week which is a step in the right direction.

By all accounts, Joseph Rafferty was a quiet, hard working man who had no involvement in crime. He was a product of the Celtic tiger. I took a walk around this city tonight and was proud to see that at last there is real employment and opportunities. There is a now a chance for people to have housing, the benefit of going on holidays and having children who will have a future. That is what Joseph Rafferty stood for and what the Raffertys stand for. They want a country of which we can be proud.

I have seen subtle intimidation in my own town in the early 1980s when we had the H-Block marches. People came around in cars and told shops to close which made them very afraid. That intimidation is nothing to what the Rafferty family has gone through. That is real intimidation and we must ensure it will stop. Sinn Féin and others must report crimes to the Garda. I have no reason to disbelieve the reports I have heard tonight that these people are involved in the Republican movement, Sinn Féin or the IRA. It is incumbent on Sinn Féin to ensure that its members co-operate with the Garda to ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice.

Democracy is a fragile flower that needs the support of all the people to ensure that we have not just a united Ireland but a better Ireland. The Robert McCartney crime remains unsolved in Belfast. The SDLP does not have guns and was overlooked by both the British and Irish Governments. Now that the guns are out of politics it is time for all these parties to come into the fold. I call on the Minister to ensure that the full resources of the law will be brought to bear to ensure these perpetrators are brought to justice.