The US government has formally designated the "Real IRA" as a terrorist organisation in order to cut off funding to the group and block its supporters' access to the US.
The State Department also named the 32-County Sovereignty Movement and the Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association, neither of which is banned in Ireland or Britain, as aliases for the "Real IRA".
The group was listed yesterday in the Official Register. The State Department notified Congress of the designation seven days ago, as required in law.
The move comes six months after a request from the Irish and British governments.
US law requires a heavy burden of proof for designation, and the Irish and British governments contributed extensively to the US dossier on "Real IRA" activities.
While the "Real IRA" has limited support among republican hardliners in the US, none of the other Irish organisations not on ceasefire is thought to have a presence in the US.
The Provisional IRA is not listed because it has been on ceasefire; both governments have attested to the genuineness of its ceasefire. The "Real IRA" joins 29 other listed organisations that may not raise funds in the US. The organisations are not banned, but visas for members or supporters can be withheld and banks are required to freeze accounts. Without designation, US law only allows visas to be withheld from people known to be, or to have been, personally involved in terrorist activity.
Action against bank accounts is now a matter for the FBI and the Treasury Department. The State Department's annual report on global terrorism, published two weeks ago, put the strength of the "Real IRA" at "150 to 200 activists plus possible limited support from PIRA hardliners . . . and other republican sympathisers". It said the "Real IRA" was led by a "former IRA quarter-master general", whom it named.
The report said the "Real IRA" had "a wealth of experience in terrorist tactics" and was suspected of receiving funds from sympathisers in the US.
