Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has once again stated that the IRA no longer exists.

Adams spoke at an event in Dundalk to mark the anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strikes, where he condemned the killings of Kevin McGuigan and Gerard 'Jock' Davison:

Yesterday the PSNI told reporters the Republican terror group still exists and that some Provo structures from the 1990s remain in place.

It follows claims that there may be a link between the IRA and the murder of Northern Irish man Kevin McGuigan.

Head of the PSNI, George Hamilton, said that while some of the the Provisional IRA structures remain in place, its purpose has radically changed since the 1990s, and that it is no longer involved in terrorism.

The Chief Constable also says he has no information to suggest orders to shoot down Mr McGuigan were sanctioned at a senior level in the republican movement.

However Hamilton says he is still sticking by the lead detective's claims, that members of the republican terror group may be linked to the shooting. The investigation into the murder is continuing. 

Last night Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the "the war is over. The IRA is gone and are not coming back".

In a statement, Deputy Adams said, "there is now a peaceful and democratic path to achieve republican objectives. This has the support of the vast majority of republicans and nationalists. Those individuals who do not embrace this and are pursuing their own agendas do not represent republicanism and should be held to account by the criminal justice system.

“Recent mischievous speculation and the use of these tragic deaths by other political parties is self-serving and wholly cynical. The actions of individual criminal elements or gangs must not be allowed to derail the peace and political process," he added.

Fianna Fáil's Justice spokesperson Niall Collins says that it is simply not true that the IRA does not exist: