Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997 (Amnesty Period) Order 2008

I join other noble Lords in thanking the Minister for his explanation of the order. I underline my support for it and for total decommissioning. We have waited a long time—perhaps longer than we should have, as we know—but things are getting there. I acknowledge the efforts made by people, some of whom are in this Committee tonight, in the whole area of decommissioning. I also join my noble friend Lord Maginnis in his plea about the potential for the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland. It is clear that arms and arms decommissioning are only one issue. There must be more than that which allows the devolution of such important topics. I have yet to be convinced that there is much support from Sinn Fein for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. There is a lot of talk, but I ask noble Lords to cast their minds back to the dreadful murder of Robert McCartney several years ago in a pub in the centre of Belfast. That murder has destroyed the McCartney family, and his sisters have been uprooted and intimidated out of the area. Somewhere between 70 and 80 members of Sinn Fein were drinking in the bar that night and witnessed the murder, yet none of them has come forward. Then there was the Quinn murder on the border, when a team of 20 people went out and battered the poor, hapless young gentleman to death. Now the Sinn Fein people are suggesting that if you want to co-operate with the police on either side of the border, you must go through a solicitor in Dundalk. That is the same system of vetting information and the same formula that they used in the case of the McCartney murder. It is interesting to note that Conor Murphy, a Minister in the Executive, had a meeting with the IRA a few days after the murder. The IRA informed him that they were not involved. I just wonder who drove him to that meeting, and what the topic of conversation was on the drive there. I am very much taken with the Minister reminding us of the old saying of judgment on actions, not words. I am totally opposed to the concept of devolving policing and justice to Northern Ireland this year. We are not ready for it by a long chalk, and I think noble Lords will find that most people in Northern Ireland believe that. We need actions, not words, from Sinn Fein. When will it support the police by actively giving information and putting some of these dreadful murderers behind bars?