Dublin Sinn Féin TD Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh said last night that he had "absolutely no idea" how his election posters had ended up in a van used by the five men who were jailed yesterday for membership of the Provisional IRA.
Mr Ó Snodaigh is a Sinn Féin deputy for Dublin South Central and is party whip in Leinster House.
He is also a member of the Sinn Féin ardchomhairle and of the party's negotiations team.
"I have absolutely no idea what the men were doing," Mr Ó Snodaigh said in a statement last night.
"Whatever they were at had nothing whatsoever to do with myself or Sinn Féin and those in court were not and are not members of the party, nor were they acting on behalf of the party," the TD said.
He said Sinn Féin could not be answerable for these men's actions.
He told RTÉ News that he only knew one of the five men from when he was growing up in Sandymount in Dublin and that he had not seen him for several years.
"We are obviously aware that in the current climate this will add to people's concerns about the overall state of the peace process," Mr Ó Snodaigh said.
"We will continue to do all that we can to move beyond this crisis and get the process back on track."
