IRA 'involved in port crime': Ahern

Toaiseach Bertie Ahern tonight backed his Justice Minister’s claim that the IRA is involved in criminal activity at Dublin Port.

Mr Ahern shrugged off suggestions that Michael McDowell’s allegation was inspired by upcoming local elections and insisted republicans had serious questions to answer.

“There’s been a number of serious things over the last 12 months that links in paramilitary and criminal issues and that’s what the minister is saying,” he said.

“I don’t want it either to be just rolled over, this issue, where people are saying it’s electioneering.

“It’s not electioneering, there’s a serious issue.

“He’s dealing actively with files that do show that there’s criminality and that’s what he’s talking about in the docks.”

Mr McDowell also claimed senior Sinn Féin members were on the IRA’s Army Council, but Mr Ahern said he was not personally aware of who was on the body.

He also said he was not sure if the Justice Minister was aware who was on the army council.

Sinn Féin Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness earlier challenged Mr McDowell to “put up or shut up” over his allegations that senior members of Sinn Fein were closely linked to IRA criminal activity.

The Mid-Ulster Sinn Féin MP asked Mr McDowell to substantiate claims he made in a series of interviews about Sinn Féin’s links to the Provisionals.

Mr McGuinness said the Progressive Democrat Minister’s comments were motivated by June’s local government and European Parliament elections in the Irish Republic.

He accused the Dublin minister of being “anti-working class” and “anti-republican”.

Mr McGuinness declared: “I am not going to stand by and listen to this rubbish from someone who calls himself an Irish Government Minister.

“I hear him making other allegations and I say to him either put it up or shut it up.

“It’s very well to make accusations but it is a whole other thing to substantiate those allegations.

“I think Michael McDowell needs to remember that he is the Minister for Justice. He is not the Minister for Judges and he is certainly not the Minister for Juries.”

Mr McDowell angered republicans at the weekend when he compared Sinn Féin to the Nazi Party in Germany before the Second World War.

The row between Mr McDowell and Sinn Féin erupted last month when he described their calls for human rights as “vomit-inducing” while he insisted the IRA was continuing to carry out punishment beatings.