Door open on SF talks as Ahern stands firm

THE Government is still leaving the door open for new talks with Sinn Féin, yet Taoiseach Bertie Ahern appeared to adopt a harder line than British Prime Minister Tony Blair on dealing with IRA criminality yesterday.

Mt Ahern said he is prepared to meet the Sinn Féin leadership but he was still “not an inch” wiser about its attitude to criminality, paramilitarism and decommissioning after the party’s Árd Fheis.

Nonetheless there were signals the Government is still willing to reopen negotiations with Sinn Féin, even if the Republican movement does not yet have definite proposals on dealing with these three key points.