'Don't pressurise loyalists on decommissioning' - Adams

Mr Ahern used a press conference after the meeting to express his desire to press on to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaking at Government Buildings, Mr Ahern said: ‘‘We were facing into a dilemma which perhaps we would not have been able to come back from.

‘‘But because of the leadership of Sinn Fein and the work of people we have worked with for many years we have a real opportunity.

‘‘We want to see Northern Ireland changed, we want to see the security position changed, we want to see the pressures that nationalist and republican people are under changed, and we want to see that quickly.’’

He added: ‘‘We are very pleased that David Trimble and his colleagues have so embraced what was achieved over the last few days. We think that is immensely important.’’

During the meeting, which included Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness and Irish foreign minister Brian Cowen, the differences of opinion on policing reform in Northern Ireland was raised.

Mr Ahern said the two sides would continue to work through the difficulties.

And Mr Adams demanded that the demilitarisation by Britain, which started today, should be stepped up.

‘‘The British Government committed itself to a rolling process of demilitarisation.

‘‘What we need to do is get a situation where people in south Armagh or in Tyrone live in exactly the same conditions as people in Carlow or other parts of this island, free of the obscenity of a British military presence.’’

But he made no demand for the decommissioning of loyalist weapons.

‘‘I am not concerned about the loyalist weapons and how they decommission or don’t decommission them. I just want them to stop attacking catholics and catholic property and nationalist families.

‘‘If we get the weapons silenced then these issues of what happens to the weapons can be dealt with at another point.

‘‘There is no big demand from within the broad Sinn Fein constituency for the

loyalists to be put through hoops over the question of guns, we simply want them to stop using their guns and we simply want them to stop using their bombs.’’

Mr Ahern agreed that loyalists should not be expected to act immediately.

Mr Adams added: ‘‘These are difficult and historic times that we are condemned to live in and we are trying to make a better future for all the people of the island.

‘‘I think the IRA have liberated the process. Politicians now have to rise to the challenge.

‘‘We are all about the reconquest of Ireland by the people of Ireland. This is about giving people ownership. This is about empowering people.’’