Motion on McCartney killing isolates SF

Sinn Féin is expected to be isolated in the Dáil tonight as the Government and other parties support a Fine Gael motion deploring the killing of Robert McCartney and calling on witnesses to co-operate with the PSNI.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said he subscribed to the motion without hesitation. "Our approach underlines the unanimity amongst every deputy in this House who believes in justice and the rule of law."

Sinn Féin will attempt to amend the Fine Gael motion, which will be voted on tonight after a resumed debate. Dáil Sinn Féin leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said that while his party supported its thrust, the final paragraph restricted the means by which information might be brought forward to help bring the killers to justice.

The paragraph in the Fine Gael motion "calls on all public representatives to actively encourage those with knowledge of this crime to come forward and give statements to the investigating police so that the justice in the courts sought by the McCartney family can be achieved".

The Sinn Féin amendment to it reads: "or, for those who do not support or trust the PSNI, to bring forward any information they may have to the family, a solicitor or any other authoritative or reputable person or body".

During last night's opening debate, Mr Ahern said the only information which would help put the killers of Mr McCartney behind bars was information given directly to the PSNI, information leading to statements which could be used as evidence in a court of law.

"The question is not whether Gerry Adams would testify in court. The question is whether he would offer a statement to the PSNI. That would certainly be an implication of his recent statement, but given the allegations of witness intimidation, it would be helpful if he could clarify that point."

He said he agreed with the Taoiseach and the McCartney family when they said the IRA had also a role in ensuring the killers were brought to justice.

Introducing the motion, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the time had come for Sinn Féin to break its link with criminal associates once and for all.

"They do not need to look very far to find the perpetrators of the murder of Robert McCartney. The gang involved are republican activists with direct links to Sinn Féin.

"This gang, which has been nicknamed 'C-Company' after the notorious gang run by Johnny Adair on the Shankill Road, has been terrorising the people of the Short Strand for too long. They inflict the most horrendous physical injuries on youths in the area whom they have deemed to have stepped out of line."

Mr Kenny said it had been put to him that youths falling foul of the gang had appointments made for them at the local Sinn Féin advice centre, from where they were transported to receive their punishments.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the people the IRA had pledged to support and defend had risen. "They have, in the words of Pearse, been harried and held, bullied and bribed by tyrants, hypocrites and liars. They are sick and tired of it. But their oppressor is not the British. It is the IRA itself."