Sinn Fein still has a private army, says O’Donoghue

A SENIOR Fianna Fáil minister has claimed that Ireland would be a ‘banana republic’ if Sinn Féin was in Government because it still retains a private army.

Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism John O'Donoghue is the first Fianna Fáil member of Cabinet to state publicly that the IRA still has the status of an army or military force despite the very public standing down of its units and the decommissioning of its entire arsenal.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr O'Donoghue contends that Sinn Féin can never participate in Government when there is a possibility of republican paramilitaries robbing a bank again. He is also adamant that the IRA is "still there".

The minister's criticisms are the hardest-hitting from a Fianna Fáil Cabinet minister and seem to run counter to comments by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern earlier this autumn. Mr Ahern said the 'standing down' of IRA units and its decommissioning of all weapons had given Sinn Féin the status of a legitimate democratic and constitutional party.

But the Taoiseach firmly ruled out any electoral agreement between his party and Sinn Féin on the grounds of irreconcilable ideological positions on the economy and Europe.

Mr O'Donoghue, however, went further than any of his Cabinet colleagues other than the Progressive Democrats. He based his opposition to entering an agreement with Sinn Féin on their alleged continuing paramilitary connections rather than domestic political considerations.

"The truth is that Sinn Féin has a private army and there can only be one army in the State under the Constitution. You can't have two" he said.

"What kind of a scenario would you have if you were inside in Government with Sinn Féin and all of a sudden the IRA decided they'd rob the Northern Bank again? You would have a banana republic. You could not have that."

When asked whether he believed the IRA had gone out of existence, he said: "No, they are not, you see. They are decommissioned.

"The IRA has not been disbanded. It hasn't. As long as the IRA is there (there will be no arrangement with FF)," he said.

Turning to the point that Northern unionist parties were being asked to share Government with Sinn Féin, he argued it was a vastly different situation and described the Northern state as a "failed entity".

Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said yesterday that Mr O'Donoghue's views were contrary to what the Taoiseach has said.

"The Taoiseach has said we were the same as any other political party (after the July 28 statement and decommissioning).

"What he is saying is totally and absolutely false and he knows it," he said.