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".