North deadlock - Time for the IRA to end criminality

WITH the marching season looming in the North, securing a credible signal that the IRA is willing to end violence by decommissioning its extensive arsenal of deadly weapons and putting an end to all criminality has taken on a renewed sense of urgency.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is under no illusion about the uphill nature of the task facing both the Irish and British governments in their relentless search for ways of breaking the North's political logjam.

Above all, Mr Ahern is acutely aware of the importance of continuing to look for some chink of light that might indicate a breakthrough could be on the cards.