At this time of year there is the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a time when we think of loved ones who have passed. Those of the Catholic tradition will visit the graves of dead family members and friends in the next couple of weeks. I spoke to one such mother this morning. It is with her permission that I refer to the murder of her son, Paul Quinn, on this day in 2007. He was lured to a farmhouse in Tullycoora, County Monaghan, on the pretence that he would move cattle with three friends. When he got there, he saw that his friends were being held hostage. In the following our up to ten armed and masked men proceeded to pulverise him with cudgels with nails. They finished him off with iron bars. When his mother, Breege, saw him lying in a hospital bed in Drogheda, she was told by the doctors that there was nothing left to fix. With her husband, Stephen, and all those who live in the communities of south Armagh and north Monaghan, she has known for a long time that the IRA still exists. I have been saying it, too, in this Chamber for some time.

Does the Senator have a question for the Leader?

It exists in those communities which it rules through the utmost fear and intimidation. Not one of those called in over the death of Paul Quinn spoke one word to the authorities. They sat in stony silence. To the IRA killers of Paul Quinn I hope the doors of the other world will be opened and that they will be haunted by his murder.

If they are men, they will come forward and hand themselves over to the authorities. I appeal to people in the area who have information and who may be sheltering these murderers to come forward with that information. We have heard today that, contrary to what Sinn Féin has been telling us, the IRA has not left the stage and that it is still directing the production. We need to know who is the tail and who is the dog and who is in control of what. We need an urgent debate following on from the statement made today by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Ms Theresa Villiers, on the state of play of paramilitarism across Northern Ireland and the State. We need that to happen as a matter of urgency.