The Northern Ireland Assembly has passed a motion calling for a public inquiry into alleged collusion between gardai and the Provisional IRA in the 1980s and 90s.
The motion, which was tabled by the Ulster Unionist MLA Mr Danny Kennedy, urges the Northern Secretary to put pressure on the Government to launch a full investigation into a number of alleged incidents along the Border. The motion was passed by 46 votes to 32.
Proposing the motion, Mr Kennedy insisted there was clear evidence of Garda Siochana's links to the killings of a number of RUC officers, British army personnel, judges and private citizens over the last 20 years. He referred to Garda stations in the Louth area which were allegedly used to track the movements of RUC and military personnel.
Mr Kennedy stressed he was not seeking to tarnish the reputation of the Garda as a force, insisting that it was in its own interest to dissociate itself from the activities of "rogue members".
The SDLP unsuccessfully tabled an amendment asking that MLAs wait for the results of an internal Garda investigation to be published.
The SDLP's Mr Alban Maginness insisted he would find any collusion "monstrous" and accused Mr Kennedy of making sweeping allegations while being "short on detail".
Sinn Fein said the motion did not go "anywhere near far enough". The party's Mr Alex Maskey said there was "compelling evidence" of collusion between gardai, the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries in the 1974 Dublin-Monaghan bombings, adding that he would like to see an inquiry into all allegations of collusion.
Another Sinn Fein MLA, Mr John Kelly, caused uproar when he admitted to having been a member of the Provisional IRA, a fact for which he was "making no apology".
In other business, MLAs called on the Health Minister, Ms Bairbre de Brun, to locate maternity services at Belfast City Hospital. A motion by a DUP MLA, Mr Paul Berry, urged her to "give due weight" to the determination of the health committee and the Assembly opposing her decision to opt for the Royal Victoria Hospital.
A High Court ruling dismissed the minister's original decision last November. Last week Ms de Brun decided not to appeal the court decision and to begin a further round of consultation in spring.
The Health Minister yesterday pledged that the new consultation process would be thorough and she would approach her eventual decision with an open mind.
Mr Berry described Ms de Brun as the "Monster for Health", accusing her of "narrow sectarian bias" in opting to close the City Hospital site in favour of the Royal Victoria Hospital. The decision was "wrong clinically, socially, politically and legally", he added.