Clear IRA statement required on criminality, says McDowell

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell yesterday laid down the Government’s strongest marker on republican links with criminality, asserting there was no possibility of an agreement without a clear statement from the IRA on this issue.

“This is an issue on which we cannot budge and the provisional movement cannot fudge,” Mr McDowell told the Dáil yesterday.

“There will be no deal if there is not clarity. I acknowledge there was a time when constructive ambiguity moved people together.