Exchange between the Taoiseach and Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (edited)
Mr Ó Caoláin: "At the outset, I wish to make it very clear that I reject criminality in all its forms. Would the Taoiseach be able to make that statement as clearly before the House? With respect to the Taoiseach, I think he has a neck on him, trying to label any other political party with the criminality tag when one looks at the daily unfolding reality in respect of his own political party.
"I roundly reject the Taoiseach's repeated and baseless allegations against my party colleagues, Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, that they had foreknowledge of the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast and that they acted in bad faith in the course of the talks last December. I totally reject that charge and I call on the Taoiseach to provide the evidence for that charge, repeated again today in the House.
"Everybody knows that we represent competing parties in respect of not only general elections but all other electoral endeavours in this State. It has become ever more apparent that with the realisation that Sinn Féin presents a real and substantial threat to the Taoiseach's party at the polls in this State that he has more and more moved - as I see it - a situation where he seeks to misrepresent Sinn Féin intent.
"I do not believe for a moment that his continual outbursts and allegations have anything to do with a bank robbery in Belfast but everything to do with votes in Ballybough and Ballyconnell and everywhere else throughout this jurisdiction."
Minister for Defence, Mr O'Dea: "Where is the deputy's party getting the money to buy those votes? It is robbed money?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "With respect to the little whipper at the Taoiseach's side, we never interrupted you or any of the participants . . . "
Mr O'Dea: "Robbed money. . ."
Mr Ó Caoláin: "Deputy O'Dea would serve his position and ministerial responsibilities better if he learned to behave himself in this House. Will the Taoiseach not agree that in December we were closer to a comprehensive agreement than at any time previously? Will he accept and acknowledge that Sinn Féin, with the Irish Government and others, played a substantive part in the achievement of all that was to be delivered post-December 8th?
Mr Ahern: "I can understand why Deputy Ó Caoláin is looking around for an angle and his angle is that the reasons are to do with party politics.
"If I wished to fight his political party in a party political way, I certainly would not do what I have been doing for the past number of years, such as doing everything possible to bring his party into the centre by ignoring all kinds of things, and by trying to convince the DUP recently and the UUP for years of the benefits of working with Sinn Féin.
"I have tried to convince presidents Bush and Clinton and President Prodi and others to put money into Northern Ireland to help peace and reconciliation. If I was only interested in a political fight, I would not have taken those actions.
"Before we began taking those actions, the deputy's party was a party with 2 per cent, but it now has quite a strong political mandate because people on all sides of this House, the Labour Party, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrats, the Green Party, all worked to try to bring Sinn Féin in."
Mr Ó Caoláin: "Not at all."
Mr Ahern: "We have done so because of our history. The deputy must understand that things must be equal. I refer to the kind of tactics in which you and some of your friends engage. In recent days a man suffered a broken jaw. He was taken to a layby and shot in both hands. The reason for this assault was not known but it was carried out by the Provisional IRA.
"An 18-year-old received gunshot wounds in both hands in an incident in Seaford Street in east Belfast, responsibility of the Provisional IRA.
"A punishment attack was carried out on a 19-year-old man. He was shot in both hands and it is believed the Provisional IRA was responsible.
"The other day a 19-year-old man was shot in both ankles in an alley in Serbia Street, Lower Falls, and it is believed the Provisional IRA was responsible and blah, blah."
Mr Ó Caoláin: "It is blah, blah, blah."
Mr Ahern: "I will fight Deputy Kenny's party. We will fight tough and hard politically.I will fight Deputy Rabbitte's party. However, it is very hard to fight that. The deputy refers to evidence."
Mr Ó Caoláin: "What evidence?"
Mr Ahern: "Does the deputy want me to name the individual? What would happen to him?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "The Taoiseach is abusing his position without evidence."
Mr Ahern: "I will defend the facts. I will not go about this every day, but neither will I take it.The deputy asked where is the evidence. Before I said anything, I did not say much by the way?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "The Taoiseach said more and should not have said it."
Mr Ahern: "That is not the position. I spoke to Prime Minister Mr Blair, I got a report on what British intelligence has, I got a report from Hugh Orde?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "Is that what the Taoiseach is relying on?"
Mr Ahern: "I am answerable to something with which the deputy's party has a difficulty. This is the difficulty. When I come into this House, I have to listen to what the Garda Síochána of this country says. Sometimes what it says is not suitable but I have to accept it. In this case, it said that its professional assessment is that it shares the view that the Northern Bank robbery was carried out by the Provisional IRA and that an operation of this scale could not have been undertaken without the knowledge of the leadership of the provisional movement. That is the position."
Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh: "The Taoiseach is relying on British intelligence."
Mr Ahern: "Yes, because I have to listen to it."
Mr Ó Caoláin: "He does not have to listen to it."
Mr Ahern: "Should I ignore the Garda?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "Shame on the Taoiseach."
Mr Ahern: "Does the Garda not tell the truth either?"
Mr Ó Caoláin: "Let us get to some specifics.Does the Taoiseach acknowledge that when the effort to get a comprehensive agreement failed, Sinn Féin and the British government proceeded to explore how the governments could deliver on the contributions they had made and that this continued up to Christmas? Will he acknowledge that the Government was less than enthusiastic about that?Will he acknowledge that those efforts must continue if we are to get out of this impasse and this exchange of bile? Did the British government present the Irish Government with a paper on the exchanges from December 8th up to Christmas? The Taoiseach should make no mistake that my colleagues and I stand here on our mandate received from the Irish electorate and we will continue to represent that electorate.
"They are not second-class citizens and nor are we. We will continue to present a republican challenge to a continued failure on the part of the Taoiseach and his party in ceding responsibility for all public utterances on the most important issue to be addressed in this country today to a Minister for Justice who would label Bobby Sands MP a criminal and, by the same criteria, would label as criminals the man whose portrait hangs in the Taoiseach's office and all those who were executed in 1916.
"The grassroots of his organisation are saying repeatedly that it is a shame and scandal that he has handed responsibility for the peace process to a man and party who have made zero contribution to it from its inception."
Mr Ahern: "What Deputy Ó Caoláin said at the start of his contribution is correct. We have to move forward. As I said in reply to deputies Kenny and Rabbitte, what would be enormously helpful is the answers to the questions and issues we put yesterday. If we can make progress on those, we can all move forward. I am always amused at how things change. A few weeks ago I was under some question in this House for being over-generous to Sinn Féin in the comprehensive settlement. Now, a few weeks later, matters have moved so differently."