THE PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde and British and Irish ministers have made a direct link between the growing threat from republican dissidents and the Sinn Féin/DUP standoff that has prevented the Northern Executive from properly functioning.
The chief constable said at a cross-Border crime summit near Enniskillen yesterday that dissident republican activity was at its highest in the last six years.
"They are determined to kill a police officer . . . it is as simple and as stark as that," Sir Hugh said at the seminar at the Lough Erne Golf Resort Hotel, which was also attended by Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy and the North's direct rule Minister for Justice Paul Goggins.
Sir Hugh said that continuing good co-operation between his force and the Garda in tackling dissidents had saved officers' lives.
He said dissidents were taking more and more risks in their efforts to kill a PSNI officer.
"The impasse is making it far more difficult for my officers to operate," said Sir Hugh. "It puts them at greater risk. Until we see some sort of political movement there is greater opportunity for disenfranchised young people."
Mr Ahern said police had to be very vigilant against dissidents. "A political vacuum is a dangerous space," he said. "We have to encourage the parties to put the final piece of the jigsaw in place, which is the devolution of policing and justice."
Mr Goggins said it was important that the standoff was ended. "The final step will snuff out the dissidents and give them no space or oxygen whatsoever," he said.
Mr Murphy said he agreed with Sir Hugh on the dissident threat. "These people are serious about what they want to do," he warned.
The two-day conference at the new five-star hotel on the shores of Lough Erne was attended by senior officers from bodies such as the Garda, PSNI, and the Northern and Southern revenue and customs bodies.
