Words must be followed by action, say parties

OPPOSITION parties last night broadly welcomed yesterday’s historical IRA statement but cautioned that words must now be matched by deeds.

Fine Gael’s deputy leader Richard Bruton said the statement had the potential to repair the damage done to the peace process but warned that words alone would not be enough to convince people of the IRA’s intentions.

“IRA statements on their own are no longer sufficient to convince people. Too often in the past seven years we have witnessed promising statements followed by false dawns.