The Ulster Unionist Party’s Justice Spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA, has said political parties in the Republic should give very careful consideration to today’s comments by the Garda Commissioner that the IRA Army Council still exists.
Doug Beattie MLA said:
“Today’s comments from the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at a passing out ceremony for new officers at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, will come as a reminder to the people of the Republic that the IRA has not ‘gone away.’
“Two weeks ago 25 per cent of people in the Republic voted for a party whose policy is reported to be directed by an unelected cabal, the IRA Army Council. Many of those who voted for Sinn Fein may have been well aware of that, but it might come as news to others.
“Either way, for any Western European liberal democracy to be genuinely facing the prospect of having a terrorist group directing the policy of a party that has serious ambitions of holding Executive office in a sovereign government, is a truly shocking state of affairs.
“Those parties in the Dail who are considering who to support in the formation of a new Government in Dublin should give very careful consideration to the words of the Garda Commissioner today. They should also remember that the IRA murdered police officers, prison officers, soldiers and civilians on both sides of the Irish border. The Army Council that directed them still exists and now directs Sinn Fein’s political strategy.
“A 2015 report concluded that the IRA Army Council still existed. It is shocking that nothing has changed since.”