McGuinness calls Real IRA 'a gang'

The Sinn Fin leader made the comment in the Assembly during a discussion on the Real IRA murder of Kieran Doherty.

During the debate, Mr McGuinness called on the Real IRA to disband.

"Those people describe themselves as an army. It is not an army that we are dealing with but a gang. It is a gang of people who are opposed to peace, who are opposed to justice and who are opposed to political progress. It is a gang of people who believe that it is a legitimate political objective to destroy all the good work that many of us in the House have been engaged in, with the assistance of others, over the past 15 years."

Mr McGuinness also said a clear message must be sent to dissidents.

"We have had enough victims. The groups that are out there are mostly on the so-called republican side. Our message to them is clear: give us a break, go away and get a life, get off people's backs and recognise that they are going absolutely nowhere," he said.

The Deputy First Minister said violence has "had its day."

"We say to them: give us a break, we want no more victims, we want you to go away, stop your activities, give us the opportunity to move forward, and if you have the intelligence and the ability, you can continue to oppose politically what we are doing, but the use of violence has had its day in the north and on the island of Ireland," he said.