Taoiseach steps up pressure on IRA to disband

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has been conducting a concerted campaign behind the scenes to persuade the IRA to give an early signal that it is disbanding.

In the weeks following Gerry Adams’s public appeal in April asking the IRA to stand down, Mr Ahern indicated that he did not expect any response until the autumn. However, since then the timetable has been changed, according to reliable sources.

This has been prompted by Mr Ahern’s overriding concern about the continuing political vacuum.