Murphy due in Dublin to discuss faltering peace process

Northern Secretary Paul Murphy is due in Dublin this Wednesday to discuss the faltering peace process with Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern.

The two men are expected to discuss their next step amid the on-going acrimony surrounding the IRA's alleged involvement in the £26.5m Belfast bank heist.

The Irish and British governments, along with the SDLP and the unionist parties, are insisting that the republican movement must demonstrably end criminality before the peace process can continue.

However, Sinn Féin is insisting that the republican movement is being targeted in an effort to halt its electoral progress.

Tabloid media reports have also suggested that the IRA is on the verge of a split over Sinn Féin's apparent willingness to decommission all the organisation's weapons.