THE murder of a British soldier at Bessbrook, Co Armagh, on Wednesday night was strongly condemned by all sides of the House.
The Taoiseach said it was an outrage and anti Irish. "It is an expression of something which we wish to eradicate from our society, which is the use of violence to achieve political ends," Mr Bruton said.
He said that the ending by the IRA of its ceasefire was a profound mistake. Tremendous progress had been made during the ceasefire.
A forum was established to allow republicans an input to political dialogue, and there were numerous meetings with the Irish, British and US governments.
There had been the removal of the "Washington 3" precondition. And after the ceasefire had ended, a fixed date, which had long been sought for all party talks, was achieved.
The only reason republicans were not represented was because the IRA insisted on continuing with its campaign of violence which had brought so much hardship and which failed so miserably in its objectives over 25 years.
The Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, expressed his utter repudiation of "the senseless and brutal murder", which had endangered peace on the island.
"It is long past the time for Sinn Fein to show some political leadership and declare whether they are seriously interested in a peaceful settlement and playing a useful part in the ongoing talks.
The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, said that the murder would outrage every decent minded person, North and South. "Nobody who respects democracy, nobody who believes in peace will for one moment condone what happened.
She noted that the Sinn Fein leader had described the killing as a tragic event. "He spoke about it as if it was something that was bound to happen. It was not bound to happen. Somebody pulled the trigger and carried out a cold blooded murder.
"And I think it is time that we sent a message to that movement, a movement that believes the only method of communication is through the barrel of a gun. And I want to see the Government of my country, and its officials, slam the door on Sinn Fein until such time as the IRA ceasefire is fully restored."
Ms Harney said they must also ensure that politicians seize the initiative and leave the men of violence trailing in their wake.
"We must prove that the talks can work. We must ensure that we create a partnership society in Northern Ireland."