US praises Ireland’s help in war on terror

THE US Government has praised Ireland’s co-operation in the war against terrorism.

In its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, the US Department of State also welcomed the progress of the Provisional IRA in turning its back on violence.

“There were notable positive developments in Irish counter-terrorism co-operation,” the report read.

“A remarkable change from 2004 was the September 26 decommissioning of weapons by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). In addition, Ireland passed new counter-terrorism legislation, signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States, and came into compliance with a 2004 UN International Maritime Organisation code.”

The State Department said the Government had “made strides” in strengthening counter-terrorism legislation when it passed the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Bill just before the summer recess.

“It enabled Ireland to ratify and accede to four international conventions and protocols on terrorism and significantly strengthened the government’s ability to seize assets and prosecute those suspected of supporting terrorism.”

It said that before this law was passed, authorities could only pursue and prosecute terrorist suspects if they had committed criminal offences in Ireland or were designated by the UN or EU.

It said Ireland had also signed the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

The report said that last July, the Government completed the installation of new counter-terrorist activity measures at Irish international seaports, in compliance with the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) code.

“These arrangements are aimed at preventing a terrorist strike on Ireland or the use of Irish ports for an attack on another country.”

The State Department said the signing of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the Minister for Justice and the US Ambassador last summer further increased co-operation between the two countries in the fight against global crime and terrorism.

“This agreement allows for more bilateral co-operation in police investigations and updated rules on extraditions.” But it added: “Nonetheless, the Irish courts’ restrictive approach to carrying out extraditions continued to be of concern to US officials.”

The report said Justice Minister Justice Michael McDowell estimated that up until the PIRA statement of last July there were around 1,500 active PIRA members. It noted reports from the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) that the PIRA decreased its involvement in violence in the first half of 2005, but increased criminal activity.

Since the US report was compiled, the most recent IMC report found that the organisation was trying to end illegality, but that senior members remained deeply involved in crime.