http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8240689.stm
a) timings a bit odd after the prisoner release :-/
b) are they asking the US government for any money as the IRA were largely funded from the US?http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1563119.stm
the funding only stopped after 9/11
c) which countries do we owe money to? or are the £4bn worth of weapons we sell abroad the kind that don't kill?
d) i don't see the Irish government coughing up any dosh either 
The important issue here imo is that he was previously asked to do this and refused point blank.
The U.S. insisted on Libya paying a large amount of money to its citizens who had been affected by its arming of terrorists before they would have any dealings with them,and when Brown was asked to do the same he said it was "inapprpriate"
He only changed his mind today,when the sh1t hit the fan.He defies medical science by walking upright without a spine.
The point about the U.S. gov. is probably fair comment imo.
If we sell arms to terrorists rather than official government agencies then we are in the same boat as the Libyans.If it does happen I would imagine the arms go the long way round and in through the back door.

The question of the Republic of Ireland government isnt quite so straightforward imo,they have (at least since the early 70,s)had an official policy of condemning terrorism.The IRA/INLA werent the army of the Irish Republic any more than the UDA/UFF were the army of the U.K.