Those who commit terrorist murders should not believe they will receive an amnesty under the Northern Ireland Agreement, Fine Gael TD Mr Alan Shatter told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday.

Mr Shatter said he welcomed the statement in the Dail by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, ail that those accused of the murder of Det Garda Jerry McCabe would not be freed as part of agreed prisoner releases.

"It's important that no individual in the coming weeks, on behalf of some subversive group, believes that if they go out and kill people they will be granted an amnesty," Mr Shatter said. He criticised Sinn Fein's "ambivalence" towards the agreement. It was sending the "wrong message to the unionist community," he said.

"It stretched credibility to hear talk of Sinn Fein supporting a Yes vote in Northern Ireland and a No vote in the South."

Committee chairman Mr Des O'Malley (PD) said the strength of the agreement was its acceptance by all the talks participants and the two Governments. He agreed with the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, that there should be a "resounding majority" in favour of the deal, both North and South.

"It's the most important electoral event on this island since 1918."

Mr O'Malley said he had been accused of double standards over his stance on those accused of Det Garda McCabe's murder, because he did not refer to those accused of murdering members of other security forces. "Frankly I feel exactly the same about protection of police in Northern Ireland or anywhere else."

Mr Brendan Smith (FF) said the agreement represented a "win situation for both sides on this island." His constituents in Cavan/Monaghan had expressed a "very favourable" response and a strong endorsement on May 22nd would "help both governments overcome many difficult areas".

Mr Ben Briscoe (FF) said the outcome of the referendum would be a "big indicator of the desire of people North and South for peace." It represented an "opportunity to express in a very positive way their will that violence cannot be the solution to this problem."