The Labour TD, Mr Declan Bree, has accused Mr John Major and the British government of betraying the confidence of Irish people who had sought a peaceful resolution of the Northern Ireland conflict.
Speaking at an Easter 1916 commemoration ceremony in Sligo, Mr Bree also criticised the IRA for ending its ceasefire. This action had benefited only the "backward, apolitical militarists" in the organisation, as well as the "worst sectarian bigots on the unionist side".