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DUP repeats call for 'end of IRA' statement

Thursday, 4 September 2008

The DUP is underlining its demand for the republican movement to confirm that the IRA is gone for good.

Sinn Fein dismissed the comment as ridiculous, coming a day after an Independent Monitoring Commission report found the IRA had effectively ceased to exist.

The clash came ahead of talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein at Stormont today aimed at securing the future of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government.

The two parties are divided over a series of issues including the devolution of policing and justice powers, education reform, the future of the Maze prison site and the promotion of the Irish language.

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Centaur, get your facts right. There are many Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Last time I checked both those places were in Canada which I believe is still beyond Irelands shores.

Posted by Fred | 06.09.08, 19:18 GMT

Hey Centaur, maybe you don't want to learn a second language because you are not capable. Stupidity is inherant. Thank your forefathers.

Posted by McRee | 05.09.08, 15:35 GMT

I don’t know what the DUP are making all the fuss about the IRA army council for, they seem to be ignorant of the facts of who actually hold positions on the army council, is Peter Robinson and his colleagues that gullible I don’t think so, stop putting imaginary walls in the way of political progress and get on with the job to which you were elected to do that of moving Northern Ireland forward instead of backwards, the time has come for the DUP to change gear instead of just waffling their old rhetoric of a bygone time, being backseat drivers won’t do anything for the people of Northern Ireland who are suffering because of their position of stalemate.

Posted by Billy North Belfast | 05.09.08, 12:03 GMT

Centaur - can you show any factual data on your comment that there are more Mandarin speakers in Ireland than Irish language speakers.

All I could find was this from Wiki (doesn't equate to fact!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland#Demographics.

It states Irish is the second most spoken language on the Island.

Posted by Liam | 04.09.08, 14:48 GMT

The Shinners can promote that dusty old language all they like, but I, for one, flatly refuse to learn a language that is not spoken beyond these shores and is not understood by most people here.

It is a fact that there are more Mandarin speakers than Irish speakers on this island!

Please don't waste our budget on this nonsensical whim. We are already struggling to keep our hospitals and schoold operating. The people who are pushing this ridiculous notion should remember that it places their followers at as much of a disadvantage as it does the Unionist people - and for WHAT?

Posted by Centaur | 04.09.08, 12:55 GMT

The IRA has ceased to exist but certain obdurate elements refuse to accept this. It is about time the DUP turned its attention to more pressing and important issues and stop their bleating which is very tiresome.

Posted by Liam Miller | 04.09.08, 12:35 GMT