Will the Taoiseach state more clearly the level of credibility he attaches to Deputy Ó Caoláin's statement yesterday that "Sinn Féin is a party that rejects criminality of any kind"? Can the Taoiseach provide clarity in that regard? I acknowledge the statement and welcome it in so far as it goes, but I do not know what credibility to attach to it. Given that Sinn Féin's members cannot acknowledge that the murders of Jean McConville, Tom Oliver and Detective Garda Jerry McCabe were crimes, it seems that serious difficulties must attach to any statement of the kind made yesterday by Deputy Ó Caoláin. As the republican movement does not believe that any criminal act carried out in the course of its "duty" is a crime, it seems our difficulty is that we are on two different planets. Therefore, we do not know whether any credibility can be attached to Deputy Ó Caoláin's statement.

The Taoiseach has said that he, Deputy McDowell and the rest of the members of the Government are ad idem and of one mind about this matter, and that everybody knows now what he has been concerned about for the last two years. It seems, however, that everybody does not know that. If one traces back the statements, one will realise that it is not only now that there are contradictions within Government but that there have been inconsistencies regarding the criminality issue over the months leading up to 8 December. Rather than throwing our hands up in horror over the failed peace process, we should regard it is good that some of the ambiguity that surrounded it is now out it the open. It seems good that criminality is now the focus of debate among ordinary people in this jurisdiction and, one suspects, in Northern Ireland. That is a positive development. If it brings the Sinn Féin leadership to its senses, so much the better. However, I do not see the merit in the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, fully supporting the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, on Sunday and issuing a statement on Monday night censuring him over what he said in public.

The Government needs to speak with one voice but this is not happening. It seems that we do not want to exclude anyone to the point where we are again prepared to fudge. We did not exclude anyone, the republican movement excluded itself by its actions. As I stated yesterday, I do not support the Taoiseach's view that exclusion brought us 30 years of murder and mayhem. Thirty years of murder and mayhem brought us exclusion.

I do not want to get into political points but I hope Deputy Rabbitte is not saying Government confusion was responsible for the bank robbery by way of nit-picking statements made by the Government over the course of two years, thus trying to find contradictions suggesting it has changed its line. The Government has been at one for years on this issue. I remind Members of the House, including Deputy Rabbitte, that we worked on the draft of the joint declaration in 2001. It was in 2001 when, at Weston Park, we had come to what was in paragraph 11, which I think was published in 2002. Paragraph 11 informed the entire discussion. The Deputy is correct that people were not really interested in paragraph 11. I made many speeches in Northern Ireland and paragraph 11 was appearing on page 18. In recent weeks it has been appearing on page 1, but I should not be blamed for that.

In March 2003, October 2003 and from October 2004 to December 2004, the discussion was on paragraph 11. Certainly from September 2004 — colleagues can correct me if I am wrong — we focused on one sentence. We spoke for weeks about the rights and safety of others and the issue of criminality. Nothing else was being discussed at the time. Therefore, the criminality issue was central to why we did not complete the issues in spring and autumn of 2003 and in 2004. That is the position.

On yesterday's comments and the question asked by Deputy Rabbitte, we are listening very closely to what Sinn Féin is saying. We have asked Sinn Féin in the frankest terms to reflect on its position. I have repeated this morning, in a reply to Deputy Kenny, the nature of the issues in question, namely, that there be an end to paramilitary and criminal activity by the IRA and decommissioning of its weapons. We need deeds as well as words. Like the Deputy, I obviously welcome what was said yesterday but we must see these words transferred into implementation and a real act. We are not seeing this at present and have not done so in recent weeks. A changed position is required.

On the last point, Deputy Rabbitte should note that we are trying to deal with a very serious issue. His statement that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, rebuked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, is just nonsense. I have heard what they have all said and it is not appropriate to take a word here and a word there. A position cannot be determined by doing so. The only difference is that every morning Deputy McDowell, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, receives detailed intelligence reports, as do all Ministers responsible for justice.

If I came into the House saying I, as Taoiseach, looked at such reports every day, I know what Members would say. I was here long enough to remember what they used to say about Taoisigh who used to take an interest in such matters. I do not take those kinds of briefings. I receive from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform briefings on broad issues and assessments on a regular basis. Meetings are held with the Commissioner several times per year, although irregularly, and he gives broad assessments. I am not made aware of every detail, such as who was at a particular meeting. Quite frankly, it does not matter who was at what meeting. What matters is that we know how the system works and the nature of the broad operation. The broad issue is that the leadership of Sinn Féin and the IRA are extremely close. What we want to get done is important and it determines the agenda.

I, too, am long enough here to know that when Taoisigh were being criticised for reading transcripts, it was not concerning the security of the State. I do not want to retrace this territory but the Minister for Foreign Affairs said only a few weeks ago that he foresaw Sinn Féin in Government, probably with Fianna Fáil, sooner than people realised. The Taoiseach stated last weekend that "Sinn Féin could not be excluded from the Belfast Agreement, despite the discovery of the IRA's recent criminality". In fact, paragraph 25 of the Agreement states: "Those who hold office should use only democratic, non-violent means, and those who do not should be excluded or removed from office under these provisions." This is black and white.

Should the acid test of Deputy Ó Caoláin's statement yesterday, which presumably arose from the Sinn Féin executive meeting on Saturday, not be the willingness of the leadership of that party to instruct its members to turn in the killers of Robert McCartney? This should be the acid test if there is to be any credibility attached to the statement. Deputy Kenny has referred to hearing the sisters of Robert McCartney on radio this morning as they described the gruesome, mafia-style killing and the swagger of those bully boys who dominate working class nationalist communities through terror, fear and punishment beatings. I am fearful that we will drift back into a position whereby we do not exclude for the sake of not doing so and engage in the same creative ambiguity and confusion as before. It is important that this issue be clarified once and for all. We should regard this as an opportunity to do so rather than as a betrayal of the peace process.

I do not disagree with Deputy Rabbitte on that point. This is an opportunity, two and a half years on, to bring this phase of the process to an end. We have brought other parts to an end. Let us not forget that. We do not have the kinds of statistics and problems that obtained before, which were all bad news.

The Deputy is correct regarding the McCartney family. There are people who can resolve the McCartney murder very quickly. Not only were these people present at the scene of the crime — this is known — but they also had the audacity to go back to the scene of the crime to sweep the place clean. It is bad enough killing people but to do that is horrendous. It does not add up to people trying to say they were under the influence or something like that. It is unlikely considering the way they acted. I do not believe any of that stuff, and people can help.

I strongly believe that dealing properly with the PSNI is ultimately the only way we will stop who Deputy Rabbitte has described as the bully boys and thugs. We had made a lot of progress in this regard in December. Until there is proper policing in all parts of Northern Ireland, we will continue to have people who can become little heroes in their own areas through engaging in criminal activity. Policing is essential in addressing this.

If at some stage I believe I am wasting my time trying to achieve the inclusive process we thought we had achieved under the Good Friday Agreement, I will be the first to say it. However, I would be very slow to give up eight years' work and I do not want to do so. I do not believe we are at that stage. Yesterday I listened to everybody talking about the past four or five years in the Middle East. Mr. Sharon and Mr. Abbas say there is a chance of having an inclusive process and moving forward after five years of mayhem, killing, and houses being rolled over every day. Now everybody is at one, and the European Union and the United States back the inclusive process. I read about what is happening in Sudan and Darfur, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo where people say they need an inclusive process. It is the same in Uganda, Sri Lanka and all over the world. One must try to get the people who cause problems in to try to change them, otherwise one will not resolve the problems.

For the last decade we have tried to get people in to the process by giving them the time and the chance to do so. Admittedly, it has taken a long time and involved risks. In this House we have all agreed on the things we do not like. I accept that. I am not saying we did not have to bite our tongues. Of course we did. I have admitted as much in replies to questions about murderers getting out of prison. However, there is a chance to complete this project. If people do not do that they will lose an enormous opportunity.

We should not give up. I spoke about this to the Prime Minister, Mr. Blair, yesterday. The easiest thing to do would be to go off and deal with another problem. There are always enough problems. I would rather finish this and that is why I believe in an inclusive process.