merrion street

The Taoiseach, Mr Enda Kenny TD, has issued the following statement on the death of Osama Bin Laden....

Most people in Ireland remember the terrible scenes in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in Washington on September 11th 2001. They are, to echo the words of President Obama last night, seared on our memories.

Today we think of the victims of those attacks, including those from the Irish American community, many of them from the police and fire departments who died trying to save others.

And we remember all the other victims of international terrorism.

Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network have been the cause of countless other civilian deaths over the past decade, including many terrible atrocities carried out in the Muslim world.

Our thoughts today are once again with all of those victims and their families.

I welcome the statement issued by President Van Rompuy and President Barroso on behalf of all of the European Union.  The removal of Osama Bin Laden's ability to plot heinous acts is a major achievement in the effort to rid the world of the threat of terrorism.

The events in Pakistan yesterday do not mean that the international

community should let up in its efforts to address the threat that international terrorism continues to pose for us all.

We must redouble our efforts to address the causes of terrorism and to build a world of peace, security and prosperity for all.

Ireland will continue to work within the framework of the United Nations, the European Union and with the broader international community to address the scourge of terrorism and its root causes.