Dublin reaction: The IRA's offer to shoot the men who killed Robert McCartney showed that the organisation is now in a moral "twilight zone", Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has said.
Describing last night's statement as "astonishing" and "bizarre", Mr McDowell said it showed that the IRA's commitment to a ceasefire "doesn't mean anything.
"The IRA is living, I don't want to say in a parallel moral universe, but in a twilight zone, where they have completely different expectations to the rest of us," he said.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the statement revealed the nature of the republican mindset.
"The IRA has issued an unprecedented volume of public statements about this particular crime but nonetheless they have yet to produce even one witness statement from any of those involved.
"It also represents yet another attempt by the provisional movement to minimise the consequences for its members by suggesting that only four people were involved.
"Fine Gael supports the McCartney family's objective of seeing all those who were involved in this appalling crime, including those who destroyed evidence at the scene, facing prosecution in the courts," Mr Kenny said.
"If they are sincere in their support of this objective, Sinn Féin and the IRA should set an early deadline for their members who were involved in the murder to make truthful statements to the investigating police."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said it marked "a bizarre development that shows that the IRA has learnt nothing from this shocking murder. It shows that the IRA is still committed to the law of the gun rather than the rule of law. It shows that the IRA continues to regard itself as a superior authority to the courts.
"Did the IRA seriously believe that the McCartney family, who at all times had made it clear that they wanted those responsible for the murder brought to justice in a court of law, would accept such an obscene offer?
"Does the IRA really believe that kangaroo courts and arbitrary executions are an appropriate response to a murder such as this? Based on their statement, they clearly do.
"How are we expected to reconcile this statement with repeated assurances from leaders of the Provisional movement that they were committed to exclusively democratic and peaceful means?"
Mr Rabbitte said the IRA's threats to kill would make it more difficult to secure convictions since the courts would have to declare inadmissible any statements made by people who had been threatened with death or serious injury by the IRA.
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said: "The McCartney sisters and Bridgeen Hagans are once again providing a moral compass for republicans by opposing any physical action being taken against the killers of Robert McCartney.
"Their call for real justice is a call for co-operation with the police, the courts and the legal system as recognised under the Good Friday agreement and endorsed by the vast majority of people on the island of Ireland," Mr Sargent went on.
"Two wrongs do not make a right and, rather than carrying out more shootings, the IRA needs to accede to the wishes of these women, who are standing not for revenge but for publicly accountable justice requiring full co-operation with the law as democratically mandated.
"Sinn Féin and the IRA cannot continue to live in a dual reality where they cherry-pick those aspects of democracy that they find acceptable while continuing with their Armalite strategy."
The rule of law must be allowed to prevail, Mr Sargent continued. He said the only acceptable way of dealing with those involved in the murder of Mr McCartney was in accordance with the principles of justice.
