THE Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, says that the Taoiseach's Department is fully aware of where the party leadership stands on the questions by the Government.
The Government has challenged Mr Adams to state publicly if he has yet gone to the IRA to ask for a ceasefire and, if not, why not. It is also demanding to know if his party continues to support the IRA armed struggle.
However, in two interviews on RTE radio yesterday, Mr Adams refused to give a direct response to either question. Instead, he said his party was not involved in armed struggle and did not advocate its use. Sinn Fein did not plant the bomb in Manchester and would not be scapegoated.
It was not just the responsibility of Sinn Fein to persuade the IRA to assist in bringing about a restoration of the peace process by ending armed actions, he added. He did not see the sense of the question of whether or not he had approached the IRA about a ceasefire, since the Taoiseach's Department was fully aware and actually involved in his party's efforts to restore the process.
Asked if he had gone to the IRA with a request to reinstate the ceasefire, Mr Adams said it would not be helpful for him to speculate about "where that is at this time". If it was useful to speculate on these matters, he would do so "until the cows come home".
Pursuing peace remained his "fixation", but its achievement would not be easy. Events in recent weeks had brought difficulties for everybody, including the Government, but all sides had to persist.
"My commitment is to see an end to all armed action and a restoration of the peace process," he said.
"We clearly are a party that has suffered from the armed actions of others, and our focus has been, and will continue to be, the total end of all armed action. We will do that by pursuing, in the first instance, a negotiated settlement which removes the causes of conflict and, in the second instance, by trying to build an alternative to armed struggle."
He told RTE he had been shocked and "very saddened" by what happened in Manchester and was "relieved that nobody was killed".
Those trying to push the peace process forward during the 18 months of IRA ceasefire had been "slapped in the face" by the British government. But, Mr Adams repeated, he and Sinn Fein wanted to see an end to the armed struggle.
Pressed on the fact that Sinn Fein had achieved the all party negotiations that it sought, he said his party should be in the talks. The party had renewed its mandate and had the authority to be present, but this had been set aside.
Mr Adams said it was up to the Government to uphold the rights of all voters. His conviction was to secure a peace settlement that would emerge from inclusive dialogue.