A lasting peace could not have been achieved in Northern Ireland without an amnesty deal for paramilitary fugitives, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warned today.
Mr Ahern came under Opposition criticism in the Dail today over his proposals to grant presidential pardons to on-the-runs (OTRs) under the Constitution.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny claimed the issue could haul the Presidency into a constitutional crisis and the President's office would become 'some court of Queen Elizabeth.'
But Mr Ahern said: "The OTRs issue, as difficult as it is, is one that has to be dealt with.
"Everything we have been trying to achieve - to end violence in Northern Ireland, to end the killing, to end the maiming, end the bombing, bring an end to IRA military activity and criminality.
"If we were not to deal with some of these issues, there wasn't a hope in Hell or a chance in a billion of ever getting these achieved.
"I don't like saying this so bluntly, but you decide which way you want it. You either deal with these hard issues or you would have had to pass. I opted for this one and I will never apologise for it."
Mr Aherns plans to set up an Eligibility Board body which will pass on applications for pardons to the Justice Department and the Cabinet before being referred to the president.
The Taoiseach said today that controversial British legislation on the issue has passed through its second stage in the House of Commons and may be ready to be enacted in March.
Mr Ahern also said that he didn't realise that security forces would be granted amnesties under the Bill.
"That was not made known to us. It wasn't discussed with us. We were only informed about that around the publication of the Bill," he said.
"The British government believed in their own sense that they should include the issue. It was not something that I agreed should be in this Bill but we don't write British legislation, we put in our input." Mr Ahern rejected Mr Kenny's claims that the OTRs issue was a side deal with Sinn Fein.
Labour Party leader Rabbitte accused Mr Ahern of opting for the presidential pardon mechanism for OTRs because he didn't want to risk public outrage if the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe were included.
"You couldn't bring in a piece of legislation before this House that excluded the killers of Jerry McCabe and that is why we are in this position," Mr Rabbitte said.
The Labour leader also claimed that the inclusion of security forces personnel under the legislation raised fundamental questions about the PSNI's cold cases review of unsolved crimes during the Troubles.
Mr Ahern said that legal advice and not the McCabe issue was the main factor when the Government decided that presidential pardons mechanism was the most appropriate method to deal with OTRs.
PA