Ahern and Blair press on together
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair will press ahead with plans to implement parts of the Good Friday Agreement tonight, despite the current deadlock in the peace process.
After talks in Dublin, Mr Blair and Mr Ahern insisted that the Good Friday Agreement remained the only template for political progress in the province.
But they insisted that there had to be a clear undertaking from the IRA that it would end all paramilitary activity if the Agreement was to be implemented in its entirety.
It is understood the British government will implement plans to remove two British army watchtowers in South Armagh, introduce police and criminal justice reforms and address Irish language issues.
All these issues were contained in the joint declaration released by the two governments last week and were not directly linked to the ending of paramilitary activity.
Mr Blair, who was visiting Dublin on his 50th birthday, said: “There’s a lot we can do to put ourselves in the position when we do get clear and unequivocal answers to be able to move this whole process forward.
“However frustrating it is to be at this present impasse the fact is that we have come an enormously long way.
“One other thing that I want to make very clear is that sometimes people talk about renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement. There is going to be no renegotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.
“That is the agreement. That is the only agreement upon which there is any possibility of getting the consensus to move Northern Ireland forward and it isn’t going to change.
“Likewise with the joint declaration. We have covered all the areas we needed to cover. It is, as the people have seen, a very comprehensive assessment and plan for implementation of all the remaining aspects that the two governments can properly affect.
“So we have the Good Friday Agreement, we have the joint declaration, we know what the cause of the present impasse is. We have got to work, redouble our efforts to overcome it.”
Mr Blair and Mr Ahern said that they wanted a clearer statement from republicans on the IRA’s attitude to paramilitary activity.
While they said much had been achieved in recent weeks, there was still not the basis for persuading David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists to go back into government with Sinn Fein.
Both governments expressed their hope that Assembly elections, postponed last week from their May 29 date, would go ahead in the autumn.
