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7 October 1999 Edition

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Dúirt siad...

Seldom has a session of Dáil Éireann opened with the government so deeply mired in controversy. Embattled on all sides, the coalition is facing a winter of deep discontent. Rarely since the post-Treaty Dáil of January 1922, which led to some of the most bitter exchanges in our parliamentary history, has the credibility of the country's political leaders and, indeed, faith in the workings of the administration itself, been so at stake..

Editorial in the Examiner, 30 September

 


The relatives and victims cannot and will not engage in a private inquiry into mass murder and compromised police inquiries into these murders. There are clearly matters of public interest in the case of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings to warrant a public inquiry. The reluctance of the government is bizarre and in the view of many may be explicable only in terms of the maintenance of secrecy over that which should be revealed. It adds insult to the injury suffered by the bereaved and wounded.

Solicitor for the victims of the Dublin/Monaghan bombings on the announcement of a private as opposed to a public inquiry into the bombings in 1974

 


Very disappointed in the Taoiseach.

Pat Fay, whose father was killed in the bombings

 


I called him the Prime Minister - we were speaking English.

Ian Paisley after his meeting with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern last week

 


All forms of sectarianism, in particular direct attacks on places of worship, are totally unacceptable and anathema to everything Irish republicans hold dear... I continue to confront the barren thinking of those who carry out such acts and of those who would condone them, by my utterances and my actions.

Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O Cáoláin on recent attacks on Church of Ireland and Presbyterian property in the border region

 


Today's Tory Party - the party of fox hunting, Pinochet and hereditary peers; the uneatable, the unspeakable and the unelectable.

Tony Blair at the British Labour Party's annual conference

 


It is probable that the family of the late Robert Hamill long ago lost the ability to be surprised by each new twist in the case. However, they are fully entitled to be completely frustrated and angered over the way the saga has unfolded.

Editorial in the Irish News, Friday 1 October, on the decision not to prosecute the RUC officers who stood by while Robert Hamill was kicked to death by a loyalist mob two years ago

 


If Mr Trimble is saying that the executive could be put in place next week then it should be put in place next week. It should be put in place forthwith.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams

 


Of course, the British government has a huge role - the central role - to play. But the reality is that if Mr Trimble does not face up to his responsibilities then the Good Friday Agreement is finished.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams at the Ogra Shinn Féin conference at the weekend

 


I feel we gave a promise to have a referendum. We should proceed with the referendum and let the people decide because certainly there are a lot of views about PfP.

Fianna Fáil Wexford TD John Browne on the unease within the party about not holding a referendum on the issue of Ireland's membership of the Partnership for Peace

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