Madam, - The Letters page of your newspaper over the past week or so surprised and disappointed me. Having read many of the letters on the Northern Ireland situation and the Jerry McCabe killing, I regretfully have to conclude that some are striving to make a political football out of sincere attempts to draw a line under the murder and mayhem that has been a blight on the face of this island for too long.
Over 3,000 people have died in almost 30 years of violence on this island. It is imperative to end that. Accordingly, I would have thought that on such a serious issue people would refrain from undermining the Government's efforts to bring about an end to that killing on a permanent basis.
The Government were trying and will continue to try to bring about a situation where there will be no more killings by the IRA. In that context it would be a complete betrayal of the Irish people to refuse to consider the release of the remaining prisoners in Irish prisoners no matter how unpalatable that may be. This is especially so if it means that no other family will have to suffer the pain and trauma that Ann McCabe, her family and thousands like them suffered because of the violence inflicted on them.
The point is that the Sinn Féin political leadership has made clear that it will be impossible to bring the Provisional IRA to finality without movement on this issue.
This would be a very difficult decision for the Government, but I believe the Government does not have the luxury of being able to say we will do nothing - unlike the Opposition, who have yet to work out that doing nothing will resolve nothing.
It is worth pointing out that the Government has always made it clear that the men who killed Det Garda McCabe are not covered by the Good Friday Agreement. However, Sinn Féin has consistently chosen to take a different view and has continually called for the release of the men who were involved in the killing of Det Garda McCabe. The Government has, equally, consistently refused the view that the terms of the Good Friday agreement applied to these men.
However, it became obvious to the two governments that if we were ever to move to a situation where all paramilitary violence was to cease, there was a need to move beyond the Good Friday Agreement to what became termed as "Acts of Completion". It was for this reason that, as a new and significant confidence-building measure, the International Monitoring Body was introduced to support the peace process.
This was done against the wishes of Sinn Féin and the IMC is charged with reporting on a regular basis to both Governments on any ongoing criminal activity by loyalist or republican paramilitaries. It was in this context of achieving "Acts of Completion" that the issue of the release of all IRA prisoners arose.
This is not the only issue that must be resolved before an end to paramilitarism can be proclaimed in Irish political life, but it is a significant one. If, however, at the end of the process, we as a nation are faced with the position that we can draw a line under private armies on the republican side, a different situation will exist.
The other aspect of this controversy to disappoint me was the presentation by some commentators that the Taoiseach deliberately chose Budget Day to make his statement because people's focus would be elsewhere. This is untrue and unfair. It was Mr Enda Kenny who raised the matter with the Taoiseach in the Dáil and he was obliged to answer that question.
In fact, it is also worth pointing out that Enda Kenny asked this question while already knowing what the answer would be. In May of this year, he had asked the same question and got the same answer he received on Budget Day. Indeed, as far back as March 2003 the Taoiseach said: "The Garda Jerry McCabe issue is outstanding and we are considering it."
Over the past seven years, the Taoiseach has given his all to the cause of peace. It was sad to see members of the Opposition, in the week when he has been striving to secure a deal, play politics and attempt to vilify his efforts while offering no indication of what they would do if in government to eradicate forever the murder and mayhem on this island and secure a lasting peace for all.
This Government is faced with the real possibility of once and for all of removing the gun from Irish politics - a position that every Irish government since Independence has sought to achieve. Clearly the Government is obliged to give that issue and all of its consequences full consideration, having spoken to the families of Det Garda Jerry McCabe and Ben O'Sullivan and the representatives of the Garda Síochána.
As things stand at the moment, it is not certain that we will get to that point. It would, I believe, be less than honest, however, to suggest that we will never reach that point. - Yours, etc.,
NOEL DEMPSEY, TD, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Cllr Liam Kelly (December 13th) writes that "the Taoiseach should be complimented on his preparedness to face short-term public odium in order to deliver a historic peace accord in the North". So, the Taoiseach should be complimented for breaking his promise to the Irish people (and the McCabe family in particular) regarding the release of Garda killers?
Cllr Kelly goes on to say that "real statesmen show their resolve in adversity". The capitulation of the Taoiseach on this matter is evidence of resolve? Cllr Kelly, when in a hole, stop digging. - Yours, etc.,
PÁDRAIG KIERNAN, Marley Rise, Dublin 16.
Madam, - In your Editorial of December 9th you mention how tantalisingly close we have come to lasting peace in the North and the possibility of Ian Paisley and Martin Mc Guinness as first and second ministers.
If this is the best we can hope for, I would prefer to live with the peaceful anarchy that we now enjoy.
A buoyant Sinn Féin north of the Border would spell disaster for our Republic. - Yours, etc.,
NIALL GINTY, Killester, Dublin 5.