Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams denied yesterday that any of the party's activists had been involved in the brutal murder of Dublin man Joseph Rafferty.
He also called for anyone with information on the murder to provide it to the Garda.
"The Rafferty killing was a very, very brutal murder. One of a series of murders in Dublin. Anyone that has any information should go the Garda," said Mr Adams at a press briefing at the European Parliament in Brussels. Asked if there had been any Sinn Féin or IRA involvement in the murder, he said: "As far as we can establish there was no Sinn Féin involvement."
Mr Adams also reiterated his willingness to meet the family of the late Mr Rafferty, who have accused IRA members of shooting him outside his flat in Dublin in April.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he will raise the issue of the shooting with Mr Adams at their next meeting.
When asked if the IRA had decommissioned all its weapons, Mr Adams said he accepted the view of the independent international decommissioning body that all IRA weapons had been decommissioned.
Mr Adams also condemned the murder of UDA leader Jim Gray on Tuesday night in Belfast. "Like all democrats I condemn all of these murders. I think each of them diminishes the body politic, and I think it puts an imperative on politicians to make sure that the peace process works and the vacuum that currently exists is brought to an end."
Mr Adams was in Brussels for a day of meetings with European parliamentarians.