Ahern criticises Trimble role

Mr Ahern has attacked Mr Trimble's role

The Irish prime minister has strongly criticised David Trimble over his role in the Northern Ireland political process.

Bertie Ahern blamed the Ulster Unionist leader over the failure to restore devolution and the political institutions.

Northern Ireland's devolved administration was suspended on 14 October 2002, amid allegations of IRA intelligence gathering in the Stormont government.

The IRA released two statements on Tuesday night - the one given to the two governments three weeks ago and another which sets out its current thinking.

The organisation has promised if the Good Friday Agreement was fully implemented it would make it possible to definitively set aside its arms.

However, Mr Trimble said the IRA statements showed it was not going far enough in getting rid of its weapons and the British Government challenged the IRA to be more specific.

The nonsense of the last four years created in many cases by David Trimble and his colleagues of not working at the institutions has to stop

Bertie Ahern

The IRA in depth: War, ceasefire, endgame?

Last week, the UK prime minister said Northern Ireland's Assembly elections could not go ahead because the IRA had given a "point-blank" refusal to answer his questions on its future intentions.

Speaking in Dublin on Friday, Mr Ahern said there was an onus on Mr Trimble and that it was crucial he played his part.

"We need to hear Mr Trimble and his party and all of his party clearly state that they want to see cross-party operation of the assembly - that they are prepared to work this out," he said.

"But the nonsense of the last four years created in many cases by him and his colleagues of not working at the institutions has to stop.

"If we get clarity on one side we need it on the other side."

However in response, Mr Trimble said there was "no moral equivalent" between those who continued to be active in paramilitary terms and his own party which had worked to draw government attention to the problem.

"Nationalists know that the real problem is the failure of republicans to stop all paramilitary activity," he said.

"They are keen to point out that this is the essential stumbling block but for reasons of communal solidarity, they feel that if they're going to bash republicans, they also have to have a go at us.

"They have got to realise there is no moral equivalence between republicans who extort, intimidate and beat people and unionists who took political action to compel the government to act against republicans."

SDLP leader Mark Durkan said on Friday that Mr Ahern was right to demand Ulster Unionists clarified "their commitment to working the inclusive Executive".

He said recent comments by Mr Trimble and Lord Kilclooney underlined "confidence issues that many nationalists have about the commitment of the Ulster Unionist Party to share political institutions".

David Trimble said there was an essential stumbling block

Meanwhile, government compensation for calling off the election could amount to up to £4m.

The figure is contained in an explanatory note attached to the bill postponing the elections.

It says the precise level of salaries and allowances to former assembly members has yet to be determined.

However, it estimates that the amount is not likely to be more than £800,000 per month.

The bill says former assembly members will continue to qualify for some payment until the date of the next election.