Last night's IRA's statement on the killing of Robert McCartney has been described by the SDLP as a highly cynical exercise.
Deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell said: "They offered three out of a gang of 12 who not only murdered Robert McCartney but concealed evidence and obstructed the investigation.
"There were 12 Provos involved and some of the culprits are being protected by sacrificing these three.
"There have been calculated efforts by some people in this cynical deal which won't stand up to public scrutiny and doesn't deserve public approval.
"The real test is evidence to the police and evidence to the court. The three expelled members giving statements to solicitors itself may amount to very little."
Speaking before last night's IRA's statement Sinn Fein's President, Mr Gerry Adams, said the party would do its best to ensure the killer or killers of Robert McCartney were brought to justice.He said lifelong Republicans were outraged at the murder.
His comments came as Fine Gael tabled a Dail motion to be debated next week deploring the murder and calling on all witnesses to give evidence to the police.
The Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny yesterday called on all Dail parties including Sinn Fein to support the motion.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday the Sinn Fein President said: "Apart from his family the people who are most outraged at his murder are Republicans - people like us who have given our entire lives to the struggle, who have a sense of our own integrity.
He said he had met Mr McCartney's sisters, his partner and his father on Thursday and they had agreed to remain in contact. There was an onus on everybody to create the conditions in which the killers of Robert McCartney would be brought to justice.
"There is an onus on all of us to do that. We can only do our very very very best, and Sinn Fein will not be found wanting in doing our best on that issue.
"Insofar as we can do what we can do, we will not be found wanting", he said. "The family want closure brought by those who killed their brother being brought to justice. We have to get those who killed Robert McCartney or perhaps the one person who killed Robert McCartney in a position where they can be made accountable." Mr Kenny said yesterday that the public had been moved "by the huge bravery which has been displayed by Robert McCartney's sisters and his fiancée, Bridgeen, highlighting the circumstances of this brutal crime and in demanding that those responsible face justice in the courts.
"Fine Gael has decided to devote our Dáil Private Members time next week to allow Deputies to express their solidarity with the McCartney family and to call on those who have vital information about this crime to be actively encouraged to come forward to give statements to the investigating police so that the prosecutions can be undertaken.
"I am calling on all Parties in the Dáil to unite in support of the McCartneys at this critical time."
The motion, to be debated next Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, commends Robert McCartney's family and partner for their courage; notes Sinn Fein's recent statements that they support the McCartney family's quest for justice; says that all those responsible for killing, including those who attempted to remove evidence from the crime scene, should face prosecution in the Courts; regrets that no witnesses to this murder have yet come forward; and 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.