Criticism of Sinn Fein by Irish leaders has come far too late

The controversy has flared up after Drew Harris, the garda commissioner, said that his force shared the assessment of the PSNI that the Army Council oversees both Sinn Fein and the IRA.

You would hardly know, however, that this is the PSNI view. A 2015 paramilitary report used convoluted language to say republicans believed that such influence still existed. The PSNI has said little in the meantime, seeming instead to want to show republicans a friendly face.

It is not just the PSNI but legal, security and political figures who appear to be at pains to avoid making judgement. The Independent Reporting Commission is clearly not the body to give us a comprehensive assessment of the IRA and any influence that the terror group has on politics and society here. We need a new organisation for that vital role.

While Mr Martin and Mr Varadkar’s remarks are welcome, and while Mr Martin has long been critical of Sinn Fein, it is too late. Dublin put no pressure on republicans in Northern Ireland, despite their intermittently disgraceful conduct after 1998, or their post 2017 veto on devolution until their blackmail got reward in a powerful Irish language commissioner. Ireland rejected any penalty for SF.

Both Dublin and London gave relentless cover to a party that voters in the Republic always rejected — until now.