Taoiseach condemns North attacks on Sinn Féin politicians

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has condemned attacks on Sinn Féin representatives in the North, including the paint-bombing of the Deputy First Minister’s home in Derry and the murder of a community worker in Belfast.

He was responding to Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams, who said, “The silence on these attacks from the Government and others in this chamber who are sometimes very loud in making one-sided remarks about the North, is deafening.”

The Louth TD said in recent weeks there had been a sustained and concerted attack on Sinn Féin representatives.

“There have been four attacks on the homes and property of Sinn Féin councillors and members. There have been seven death threats. The cars belonging to two Derry Sinn Féin councillors were destroyed last night outside their homes, and the car of another activist, Sean McMonagle, was burned.”

There had been a bomb alert at Mr Adams’s home in Belfast yesterday morning.

The home of the North’s Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness was paint-bombed last week.

There were death threats yesterday and bomb alerts at the homes of MEP Martina Anderson and MLA Raymond McCartney. And Frank McCabe jnr, son of Sinn Féin member Frank McCabe, was blinded in one eye in a booby trap bomb on the family property in south Armagh.

Mr Adams asked the Taoiseach about the Government’s position on these attacks.

Mr Kenny said he condemned threats to all political parties unreservedly. A number of people on the Government benches had received threats and several offices had been bombed, graffitied, or damaged, as well as the cases Mr Adams mentioned.

He said people could argue and have differences of opinion “but democracy means that they can discuss these things and the electorate makes its decision. That is the Government’s position: we condemn these things unreservedly.”