Possibilities other than IRA role being studied - Noonan

THE Garda investigation into the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe widened at the weekend, according to the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan. Possibilities other than IRA involvement are being pursued.

Mr Noonan categorically denied reports that senior civil servants were instructed to request the gardai to tone down their public statements that the IRA was responsible.

A Government spokesman said there was contact between the Department of Justice and the Garda but no direction was given to play down any IRA involvement.

Three days after Det Garda McCabe's murder and the injury of his colleague in Adare, the Government is still studiously avoiding any apportionment of blame. Mr Noonan, together with other Government sources and the Opposition leader, Mr Ahern, are still wary of the consistent Garda judgment that a local unit of the IRA was responsible. They refer to the instant IRA denial of any knowledge of the attack, pointing, in particular, to the recognised code name "P. O'Neill" on the IRA statement.

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, will attend Det Garda McCabe's funeral this morning, before travelling to Belfast for the opening of all party talks this afternoon.

In an interview on RTE, Mr Noonan acknowledged yesterday that the modus operandi and weapons used would suggest there was involvement of people who were either members of the IRA, or who had been members with access still to this type of equipment. "That speculation was fairly widespread on Friday and into yesterday but I understand that a number of lines of inquiry are being pursued now and the certainty of the first conclusions is being diluted somewhat."

There was "no basis whatsoever" for the newspaper report that civil servants were instructed to request the gardai not to blame the IRA.

The gardai and the Department of Justice would always have common ground that one should not speculate in advance of hard information about who committed a particular atrocity. "The Garda investigation is widening and other possibilities are being pursued also."

Asked if the attack would damage the talks process, Mr Noonan said the IRA was quick to deny involvement. These statements had been pretty accurate, certainly in the recent past, so that would be taken into account as well.

The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Ahern, said the IRA army council had a tradition over the years, in better days or in disastrous days, of telling the truth. "I assume that when they stated that it was not something that was sanctioned by them, that was the position. It seems from all sources that those who must have been associated with them in some form, or at some time, were involved in it."