Ahern: IRA has gone far enough to warrant talks

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has said he believes the IRA has gone far enough to warrant the resumption of talks on the restoration of devolution in the North.

Mr Ahern told European journalists in Dublin today that he believed the Independent Monitoring Commission had reported sufficient progress for serious negotiations involving Sinn Féin to take place.

However, he also admitted that allegations of on-going IRA intelligence-gathering could not be glossed over.

The Democratic Unionist Party is refusing to engage in any talks with Sinn Féin because of this on-going activity, saying the IMC's latest assessment had shown the IRA was still not committed to democracy.