Searches have effectively ended at some of the sites where the remains of those killed and buried by the IRA in the 1970s and 1980s were thought to have been located.

The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, told the Dail that "subject to correction, the gardai have given up on some of the sites and have intensified their efforts in others."

He said the gardai believed the information was given in good faith, but the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, said that that good faith had to be questioned. It seemed that one atrocity was being compounded by another.

Searches at locations in counties Louth, Meath, Monaghan and Wicklow began on May 28th to locate the remains of nine disappeared people, eight from Belfast and one from Tyrone. On that day the remains of one of the nine, Mr Eamonn Molloy from Belfast, were discovered in a coffin hidden under bushes at Faughart Graveyard in Co Louth.

Mr Quinn had raised the issue on the Order of Business, when the day's Dail agenda is agreed. He asked how long the situation was going to continue.

Mr Ahern said, "We should spare no effort in trying to resolve this matter for the families concerned." That was the prime consideration. He believed the gardai had given up searching in some areas and intensified their efforts at other sites. "I believe they still hope for success in some sites, while that looks less likely in other sites."

The Taoiseach stated that the information given was very sketchy and did not pinpoint the locations. The gardai believed that the information was given in good faith, but unfortunately it was not good enough to locate the remains.

The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said some of the sites examined and exhaustively searched revealed nothing, and this contradicted what the Taoiseach was saying about the information being given in good faith. He asked what Mr Ahern's basis was for "good faith".

The Taoiseach replied that he had been given no evidence and it was the gardai who believed the information was given in good faith. He said, "They believe that those passing information to their intermediaries were involved in this matter. The intermediaries and the gardai believe the information was given in good faith."

He added that in one or two cases confirmation was given again that they were the correct sites, while in others the information was too sketchy. Mr Austin Currie (FG, Dublin West) had raised the issue with him a number of times, Mr Ahern said. "I understood that there was definite information in this regard, but given the passage of time and other factors, that information has not proved to be very reliable."

Mr Quinn said it would have to be questioned that the information was given in good faith. It seemed that one atrocity was being compounded by another. He asked what verification the Government sought before the excavations began, raising the hopes of relatives.

However the Ceann Comhairle, Mr Seamus Pattison, ruled his question out of order.