Accept IRA statement Ahern urges

Ahern: Reassurance, but police reform must go ahead

The Irish prime minister has urged the Ulster Unionists to accept the IRA's arms offer as a basis to progress the peace process.

Bertie Ahern said he accepted that Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble needed to seek clarification on issues raised by the IRA's statement, but said the opportunity to accept it must be taken.

On Sunday Mr Trimble told the BBC he would need guarantees that the paramilitaries' proposal to put their weapons beyond use and re-engage with the decommissioning process was genuine, before he would attempt to bring his party back into an assembly executive with Sinn Fein.

In response the Taoiseach told RTE radio that he would work "in every way" to ensure Mr Trimble had the agenda he required to convince his party to accept the IRA move.

'Considerable difficulties'

"He has considerable party difficulties. I don't underestimate any of those," Mr Ahern said.

"He has a number of areas where he requires clarification and he is entitled to that. Any area where he needs us to try to fill in missing gaps we should do."

But Mr Ahern also said he was firmly opposed to any dilution of the Patten report on the future of policing in Northern Ireland as part of any peace process deal.

The Ulster Unionist Council has made retaining the Royal Ulster Constabulary's name and Crown symbols a pre-condition of re-entering the power-sharing executive, suspended in February over the arms impasse.

But Mr Ahern said: "We have stated many, many times the importance of Patten to the whole process.

"If we are to have a police force in Northern Ireland that is to succeed in doing its job it has to have the support, the respect and the confidence of all sides.

"Remember Patten was not written by nationalists or by the British Government.

"Patten was a balanced document having listened to the people of Northern Ireland and international police forces.

"They went to the highways and the byways of Northern Ireland and spoke to the families of the victims on all sides and Patten is a balance of that."