The IRA killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe will have to be released as part of a final peace deal, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, made clear yesterday. His declaration is set to provoke a major confrontation in the Dáil this afternoon.
Speaking at the launch of Fianna Fáil's local election campaign, the Taoiseach said the Sinn Féin leadership would not be able to persuade the IRA to stand down unless that happened.
"I hate negotiating the endgame when I am not at the endgame, but it is quite clear to me, beyond all doubt, that it will not be possible for the leadership of Sinn Féin to be able to convince the Provisionals of closure without dealing with their list of outstanding issues.
"One of those outstanding issues is these remaining prisoners."
In February 1999, four men were sentenced to jail terms ranging from 11 to 14 years for the manslaughter of Det Garda McCabe, who was shot dead during an abortive post office van robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996.
Rejecting charges that the Government has changed its mind or gone back on earlier promises, Mr Ahern said: "It is not a question of changing our minds. But it is this: the reality of the situation is that we are not going to have an end, a sign-off, on Provisional paramilitarism without having to deal with this issue. I continually argue that we should not have to deal with it, but the big picture in this is to get an end to Provisional paramilitarism in all its forms.
"It is clear that Sinn Féin leadership will not be able to persuade the IRA on that issue until we come to a conclusion on a range of issues; one of those issues is this. If it was down to one item I would gladly go to the people to try to explain where I want to get to. But there are a lot of items on the agenda."
