UUP leader Jon Burrows to write to Irish Justice Minister after law student is granted bail after appearing before court on explosives charge
Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows has described the decision to grant bail to a woman charged in connection with possession of explosive materials as “deeply concerning”.
Mr Burrows made the comments after Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, of Abbeylands Park in Clane, Co Kildare, appeared in court on Friday after being stopped on the N2 at Aclint, Carrickmacross near the border with Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
A bag was discovered in the back of her car containing Semtex and a detonator, the court heard.
Her solicitor Gavin Booth said she had been asked to take a bag to the north, and had not been aware what was in it.
Perrie Sullivan was granted bail but remains in custody ahead of a further bail hearing on Monday.
The bail conditions include a 15,000-euro independent surety, that she surrenders her passport, stays at an address approved by gardai with a curfew of 9pm to 7am, has a mobile phone available 24/7 and signs in each day at Naas Garda Station.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr Burrows said: “The decision to grant bail in this case is, in my view, extremely difficult to understand given the seriousness of the charges.
“The defendant is alleged to have been in possession of Semtex explosive and a timer power unit which were intended, if the prosecution case is proven, to facilitate an act of terrorism capable of causing catastrophic loss of life.
“An Garda Síochána opposed bail, yet it was granted. Public confidence in the justice system depends not only on justice being done but on it being seen to be done. Decisions in cases involving alleged terrorist offences must reassure the public that the threat is being treated with the utmost seriousness. The suggestion that the defendant’s parents can keep a ‘tight rein’ on her is absurd; she is 25, not 12.”
Mr Burrows said he would be writing to the Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, to express his concerns about the granting of bail and to seek clarification regarding the wider approach to cases involving alleged terrorist offences.
He also called for clarity regarding the origin of the suspected Semtex recovered during the investigation.
“I will also be seeking to establish whether the suspected Semtex is recently manufactured or whether it may originate from Provisional IRA stocks that were never decommissioned,” he added.
“If that were found to be the case, it would once again raise serious questions about the extent of decommissioning and reinforce concerns about the continued availability of terrorist matériel decades after the Belfast Agreement.”
The UUP leader further outlined how the incident was a reminder that the terrorist threat to Northern Ireland has not disappeared.
He continued: “The overwhelming majority of people on these islands support peace and democracy, but there remain a small number of violent extremists who continue to believe that murder can be justified for political ends.
“The security forces deserve enormous credit for disrupting alleged terrorist activity and protecting the public. We must ensure that every part of the justice system sends a clear message that terrorism will be met with the full force of the law.”