The Cedar Lounge Revolution

Tuesday’s response in the Seanad on the murders in the North.

Senator David Norris: [Independent] I had intended to raise several issues today. However, this is such a tragically important day that I will, like other Members, confine myself to the tragic events in Northern Ireland. I agree entirely with Senator Hanafin that these people are gangsters. Before coming into the Chamber, I heard a speaker on RTE radio claim they are not gangsters. What else are they? They operate in armed gangs to subvert the democratically expressed wish of the people of this island, North and South, and they care not a damn for the law or for family, decency or anything else. In my book at least, whatever about the views of callers to Joe Duffy’s radio show, they are gangsters.

As Senator Hanafin said, these tragic events constitute yet another poisoned gift from the people who gave us the Omagh bombing. These are people who, in the words of the great songwriter Paul Brady in his wonderful song, “The Island”, are “still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone”. They have nothing positive to offer, only death. It is as though the economic disaster we are all trying to face was not enough, they have to add murder, grief and misery. As an Irishman and a representative of this noble House of Parliament, it is my view that they have dishonoured and sullied the name of Ireland throughout the world. Their actions have brought shame on the country and will have negative political, economic and cultural consequences for us all.

We do not know who the perpetrators are but we know some of their characteristics. The first is arrogance. They have decided, with no standing whatever, that they can decide who is a legitimate target. How are they legitimate? Why are they targets? Who gave them this right? Then they appoint themselves as executioners. They certainly do not obey the laws of war in this regard; there is no chivalry there. Wounded people lying on the ground are finished off with an extra shot. It is an appalling situation. Another characteristic of these people is that they are totally lacking in imagination. They apparently cannot imagine the grief that will be caused to the families of these young people.

We were all so hopeful prior to the events of recent days. Only last week we celebrated the taking down of the bomb-proof shutters from the Ulster Hall so that it could be opened up as a place where people could listen to music and celebrate. I presume it will now be closed. Once again we are hearing phrases, such as “widespread condemnation”, we hoped never again to hear. I am sorry to say that those responsible for these attacks are completely indifferent to such condemnation. They are stupid people whose stupidity is shown by the fact that their actions are completely counterproductive. Why in every generation must ordinary, decent people, from both communities and on both sides of the Border, pay the price of the education of these moral imbeciles? They will eventually learn and will eventually say their actions were a mistake and were not worthwhile. In the meantime, however, decent people will have to pay for all the suffering they cause.

Senator Eoghan Harris: [Independent] There is an element of posturing in some of the condemnation we have heard. The Real IRA and Continuity IRA will do this again. They will kill someone else the week after this and the following month. We will be standing around here hand wringing. While Senators Fitzgerald and MacSharry speak for me on the moral issue, we should move on because we have a moral obligation to take our responsibilities. The Chinese have a proverb that says you cannot stop the blackbirds of evil flying over your head but you can stop them making a nest in your hair. We cannot affect what happens in Northern Ireland by hand wringing and condemnation but we can affect the Republic.

We should have done more in peace time to mend community tensions. The reaction to the killings was not uniformly fast and condemnatory of a murderous attack on human beings. There was a 14-hour delay from Sinn Féin, which was caused politically by the SDLP taking a green position on the activation of the special reconnaissance unit. This drove Sinn Féin into taking a 100% green position on the 50% green position. The result was that Sinn Féin was paralysed politically in the aftermath of the killing at the weekend. That is neglecting the peace process on the part of Sinn Féin, the SDLP and ourselves for not pressurising them to mind the peace rather better. Dr. Johnson said that a man is to keep his friendships in good repair and we must keep the peace process in good repair. It was not kept in repair; we wiped our hands of it.

I ask Senators to stop posturing and to join with me in calling on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to do what can be done. From a security point of view, we have major emergency powers legislation available. I will not mention the “i” word because Senators are already preparing their speeches about how we should not ratchet it up and we must not overreact. I expect to read an exclusive interview with the Real IRA next Sunday explaining it all away. I have been through all this in my lifetime, with the bleeding heart stuff and the apologias. To those who are preparing speeches about not ratcheting it up, we have a moral obligation to shut down the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA on this side of the Border. We can do so because we know their names. The police and security forces and the Garda Síochána know their names and there are only 100 of them. They use safe houses, they have friends and relations and we can shut them down. We can use emergency powers so that they cannot run from the North. That would at least free up the chief constable in Northern Ireland to look after the security situation there as best he can. This will be borne on the bodies of ordinary policemen, Catholic and Protestant, over the next months because they will die. Many more of them will die.

We must do two things, first of all by shutting down the security situation. I will not use the“i” word but I remind Members that internment never failed in the Irish Republic.

Senator David Norris: Senator Harris has used it now.

Senator Eoghan Harris: It worked in 1922, it worked in 1939 and it worked in 1956. It failed in Northern Ireland but never here. We should put it to Sinn Féin that in the upcoming by-elections, unless they stop using weasel words and unless they come out cleaner and faster in their condemnation, they will pay a political price in the Republic for their weasel words.

Senator David Norris: On a point of order, I do not believe for one second that anyone in this House was guilty of posturing and I ask Senator Harris to withdraw that suggestion.

An Cathaoirleach: A point of order must be on procedure. The Senator has already contributed.

Senator Eoghan Harris: I said there were bleeding hearts in this House who would try to stop the security measures I proposed.

An Cathaoirleach: Senator, please. I am calling Senator O’Reilly.

Senator Joe O’Reilly: [Fine Gael] I come from a Border county and have three young boys in school in a Border town. We breathed a collective sigh of relief ten years ago when the peace process was unveiled and the events of recent days have been greatly traumatic for those of us in the Border area, as they have been for the rest of the country. It has been particularly traumatic and disturbing in our area that these atrocious, reprehensible murders have taken place.

Those who perpetrated the murders do not have a democratic mandate. On top of this, they do not have the right to appoint themselves arbiters of the country’s destiny or executioners. They do not have this right in moral law nor do they have a democratic basis for that.

There must be significant co-operation between the police forces on the two sides of the Border to deal with the issue. We must literally seal the Border. I ask the Leader of the House to speak immediately with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform after this session to ensure that even if there is disruption, every cross-Border movement is checked. The Border should be checked and sealed off. There should be very rigorous support of the Garda Síochána for the activities of the police force in Northern Ireland. There should be no ambiguity or lack of co-operation in the matter. There must be an open, transparent and high level of police activity on this side of the Border. Will the Leader specifically ensure that happens and is visible in the coming days?

My next remarks are distinct from those of my learned colleague, Senator Harris, for whom I have great personal regard. To be very fair to the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland, as I was coming up today in the car the Deputy First Minister, Mr. McGuinness, very unequivocally condemned the murders and asked for co-operation with the PSNI, which should be welcomed. It was a very clear statement.

We need a very visible, open and outward sign of police support on this side of the Border and police activity along the Border. People must be apprehended. In so far as Senator Harris is correct that the names are known to police, there should be follow-up activity and people’s movements should be checked. A huge effort should be made on the part of this State. It is a crucial time in the history of the State and morality, Christian and religious ethics and the social and economic future of our country depend on this. Will the Leader seek a specific meeting with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and ask for that level of activity?

Senator Nicky McFadden: [Fine Gael] I fully endorse what Senator Harris said and I agree with him about posturing. The priority is that these people should be apprehended and brought to justice. The Continuity IRA has stated that as long as there is British involvement in Ireland its members will continue to murder people. The Senator is correct that there will be further murders. These people seem to attach no value to life. Even after the British soldiers had been shot, they were shot again. I have a 23 year old son who is the light of my life and I cannot imagine what it must be like for the poor mothers of those murdered. They were scheduled to go on a tour of duty that they thought would be dangerous but they never got that far. They were shot in cold blood on our soil, in our country. I abhor the idea that they can send a coded message to a newspaper stating that as long as there is British involvement in this country they will continue. We need to be very firm on the notion that there might be safe houses or any succour for these thugs in our country. It is a message that should go out loud and clear from this House.

Other than that I do not know what else we can do. We must condemn the action. I agree with Senator Harris that it took a long time for the so-called political representatives to come out. They did not deny it, they said they condemned it, but they did not say anything about the poor unfortunate pizza delivery lads. The implication was that they were aiding and abetting the people in the North. It is an absolute crime.

Senator Ann Ormonde: [Fianna Fáil] I agree with my colleagues in condemning the brutal murders in the North. I extend my sympathy to the families of those murdered and injured. The exercise is purely to derail the political process and put down a trap to lure the British troops back on to the streets. As many have said, there is no going back. As Senator Harris said, if the names are known, and they are known, they should be rounded up. There must be co-operation on each side by the police. Those people must be rounded up. There is no going back and that is reflected. I do not know what more I can say. Those people are a different breed. They will not listen to what we say today. They are not interested in what we are saying. They would have a big laugh at that. We must take action, and the only way to do that is through police and military co-operation North and South. That is the only way forward. I endorse many of the points raised by Senator Harris this afternoon.

Senator Ivana Bacik: [Independent] Like other colleagues, I join in expressing my outright condemnation of the brutal murders in Northern Ireland over the weekend and yesterday, and I express my sympathies to the families of those killed and injured in such a horrible way. We all thought we had gone back in time when we first heard the news. I heard it late on Saturday night and thought I was listening to an archive programme. It was so shocking and appalling to hear again the words: “Two soldiers have been killed in Northern Ireland.” It brought home to all of us how fragile and precious the peace process is and how we may have come to take it for granted in recent years.

Along with colleagues from this House and the other House, I have the privilege of serving on the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. It is a wonderful privilege to serve alongside Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the formation of this committee was a most historic development. It brings home to us the importance of these types of initiatives in preserving the peace process. In recent months we learned just how fragile our prosperity is but we thought that even if we were not leaving prosperity to our children at least we were leaving them a peaceful Ireland, one that we were creating and developing for them. Now we know both peace and prosperity are equally fragile and precious. I join again with others in expressing condemnation and the sympathy we all feel.

I do not believe this is empty posturing. It is important that we all speak out. They may be only words but words have been hugely important both in stirring up hatred and anger in Northern Ireland and in creating peace and dampening down sectarian motivation. We cannot underestimate the power of language. It is an important and powerful gesture for us all today, on both sides of the House, to express universal condemnation of these awful attacks. If there is one sign of hope it lies in the response of the communities in Northern Ireland and in the incredible outpouring of sympathy and support for the families of those killed and injured. That is hopeful and optimistic and I believe we can build on it.

Senator Eugene Regan: [Fine Gael] I wish to add my voice to the unequivocal condemnation of the killings in Northern Ireland. We are all shocked by these events which are a blast from the past and is something we thought we had left behind. The people killed are Mark Quinsey, 23 years of age, Patrick Azimkar, 21 years of age, and Constable Stephen Paul Carroll, 48 years of age, and one can imagine the misery that has been created for their immediate families.

I have some inkling of this because my own grandfather was an RIC sergeant who was shot in an ambush at Tourmakeady in 1922. I know from my own experience the effect this had on my father and it goes down through the generations. We thought after all the killings in Northern Ireland that time would heal and we would leave this all behind us and yet here we have to confront the same situation again.

I will make three points to show what we can do. There is no doubt that in the atrocities of the more distant past, the people responsible were seen as heroes. The atrocities of the Troubles were sanitised for the purposes of securing peace and the Good Friday Agreement. However, there are actions we can take. We can condemn such atrocities and this is what the House is doing today. We can condemn the callousness of shooting pizza delivery people because it is beyond contempt. With regard to co-operation on security measures and police co-operation in a European-wide context, we have held back from co-operation, from signing up to particular measures at European level, because of sensitivity with regard to Northern Ireland. The issue of hot pursuit is something which is adopted by all other member states and recognised in terms of mutual co-operation between their security and police services. We do not accept that principle here because of sensitivity towards Northern Ireland. We have to be honest and face up to the problems we have. The political context is different now and it allows for such co-operation. If that was the one single issue that came out of this, this Government could sign up to those type of security measures which are a general feature of police co-operation in the European Union.

I refer to the little bit of anti-British propaganda, whether at football matches or otherwise and politicians can slip into this mode. There is a tendency to have that jibe at Britain and Britishness and that type of anti-British propaganda is what gives some comfort to those who perpetrate these atrocities.

Senator Eoghan Harris: Hear, hear.

Senator Paul Coghlan: [Fine Gael] Of course we all condemn these senseless and mindless acts which have resulted, sadly and unfortunately, in the murders of an innocent policeman and two innocent soldiers, all lawfully going about their business in the North of Ireland. We are all in agreement on this matter although we may express ourselves differently. Some are more passionate than others, as indicated by Senator Bacik. Language is, of course, important, but perhaps some of us do not express ourselves with the same depth of feeling and passion as others. That is natural, however, since there are different styles and we are all human. It does not in any way lessen our feeling of condemnation and our duty to do what is right.

I honestly say to Senator Harris that we keep our friendships in good repair and that is the way we shall go forward, of course. Since we are, unfortunately, entering this sad new era which, hopefully, will pass quickly, perhaps the Leader might arrange for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the Seanad so we might have a debate and receive an update in this regard. I do not accept we are not doing everything in the South to apprehend these people whom I believe to be few in number. Perhaps their identity is known and the intelligence is good and it would be good to hear from the Minister in this regard.

In fairness, Sir Hugh Orde praised the Garda recently for helping and assisting so much, particularly in regard to the prevention of appalling assassinations in Castlewellen. I should like if the Leader could arrange for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to address this House.

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I’m sure we all have our own views on what precisely constitutes “posturing” and what constitute a dignified and heartfelt expression of sympathy and solidarity with those who were murdered.