Response :We will stop at nothing to defeat these groups

In response to Irish Minister for Justice, Mr. Alan Shatter's article in the Irish Times concerning the murder of Northern Irish Policeman Ronan Kerr.


The killing of a member of the police is a particularly serious crime and one that ought to be condemned by any right minded person. Those who murdered Ronan Kerr have no community support nor political justification for their actions, they are criminals who must be brought to justice.

While I expect Constable Kerr's grieving family may find some comfort in Minister Shatter's commitment to assist the PSNI in apprehending his killers, perhaps this would have been more appropriate in a letter to his parents, rather than a newspaper column?

What is not helpful for the peace process, is continued media stigmatization of Northern Ireland by overplaying the terrorist threat. As their economy falters, in no small part owing to a secondary property bubble fueled by speculation from Southern developers, it would be helpful if members of the Fine Gael led government used their media platform to remind the world that NI also remains open for business.

To put the threat to life in Northern Ireland into perspective, in 2010, 18 people were murdered, a rate of 1.023 per 100,000 individuals. In the Republic, during the same period, 59 people were murdered, a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 individuals. In other words, there is a 20% greater likelihood of being murdered in the Republic of Ireland than in Northern Ireland.

Any implication dissident gangs, with negligible political or community support, could be more well resourced than criminal organisations in the Republic would be misleading; any suggestion they pose a threat to the populations of Ireland or Great Britain, above and beyond that of serious organised criminals, is questionable.

May I also remind him of criminal matters within his own jurisdiction, according to the 2002 SAVI Report: Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland, conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons, one in sixteen women (6.1 per cent of the female population) disclosed they were the victim of a rape.

Only 7.9 % of women and 1% of men have reported sexual crimes of any nature to the gardaí. These are shocking statistics.

Recommendation three from the SAVI report states, "That barriers to the disclosure of sexual violence be addressed at the level of the general public, professionals and systems."

In light of recent events in Mayo, perhaps it would be preferable if Minister Shatter resolved "to stop at nothing" to ensure the SAVI recommendations are fully implemented, and perpetrators of sexual violence brought to justice. Such a commitment from the minister, published in a national newspaper, might bring some comfort and reassurance to the many victims of sexual violence who continue to suffer silently in Ireland.