Dail Report: The Government has raised with the British-Irish secretariat the revelations relating to "Stakeknife", the IRA man alleged to have been a British agent for more than 20 years, the Taoiseach told the Dáil, writes Michael O'Regan.
Mr Ahern said the matter would be followed up from there. "I am not too certain that the British political system would have any more information," he added. "It is normally helpful in these matters, but we raised it yesterday and will pursue it in coming days to see if we can obtain information. At this stage, it appears to be an issue of the British army and military intelligence."
He said the allegations were disturbing and added to a long list of accusations about the operation of the intelligence services in Northern Ireland.
"In the view of the Government, they raise fundamental questions about accountability and the rule of law," he added. "They also give rise to concerns about a number of murder cases, the list of which is already long and to which this allegation adds." Mr Ahern added that the current and previous Governments had succeeded in getting to the position where there were the Saville and Cory inquiries, which dealt with a number of murder cases and which would report in the autumn.
Mr Ahern was replying to the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, who urged him to contact the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, by telephone, to raise the matter at that level.
Mr Kenny said he appreciated that it was "a difficult and murky area," but if there was any substance to the claims and allegations, it suggested that British intelligence sources were engaged in highly questionable activities in Northern Ireland. It also suggested that the level of collusion between security forces and loyalist paramilitaries was considerably greater than the Stevens inquiry had suggested.
Asked by Mr Kenny if he had ever had any evidence, or indication of evidence, from intelligence sources that "Stakeknife" actually existed, Mr Ahern said he had no specific evidence about the alleged individual other than the "confusion" which existed relating to him.
"I am almost afraid to say it, but there appears to be two individuals with similar titles," he added. "I have no particular evidence about this."
Mr Ahern said he had never heard anything about the individual referred to or any of the issues. "I have heard many allegations about the activities of M15, M16 and others, but I know nothing about them," he added. "Any such allegations would have related to the past, mainly in the 1970s, and mainly, but not exclusively, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings."
Mr Ahern said they had to be careful about the allegations, because there were serious implications in them, encompassing threats to life, the memory of loved ones and people's reputations. "All allegations of collusion sharpen memories for families who have lost loved ones," he added.