Ahern: opposition were not told of McCabe deal

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern conceded yesterday that opposition parties had not been kept informed about negotiations about the possible release of the IRA men jailed for killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in Limerick in 1996.

Mr Ahern was questioned by the opposition on the Government’s position about the possible release in return for an end to all paramilitary activity.

He accepted that the killers would have been released if a proposed deal being negotiated on the back of the IRA's act of decommissioning last October had not been aborted. He also acknowledged that the opposition had not been informed about that aspect of the negotiations.