Granting amnesties to British soldiers and security agents will cause deep hurt to victims of their alleged crimes, it was claimed today.
Sinn Fein accused prime minister Tony Blair of a breach of faith for including security personnel in legislation originally aimed at paramilitary fugitives.
The controversial Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill passed through its second stage in the House of Commons last month.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has already said he had no advance knowledge that British soldiers would be included under its terms.
But Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams today claimed hundreds of people have been killed by the British forces and their inclusion in the Bill amounted to a cover-up.
Speaking after a scheduled meeting with Mr Ahern in Government Buildings, Mr Adams said: "We put it to the Irish Government that it needed to persuade the British Government to remove that from the legislation."
"It is in breach of the Joint Communiqué issued after Weston Park. "If this isn't resolved, it will cause even greater hurt to those people who have been bereaved or injured as a result of actions here by the British in Dublin city or Monaghan or in my own constituency or any part of the Six Counties.
"It just causes deep hurt to those victims and their families." Speaking after the hour-long meeting, Mr Adams called on the British and Irish Governments to come up with a plan to restore Northern Ireland power-sharing institutions in early 2006.
"The main focus of our meeting was to see those institutions put back in place," he said.
"We want to be there with the other parties working through our mandate and being accountable and answerable to the populace for doing that."
Mr Adams said that Mr Ahern made it very clear in his opening remarks at the meeting that there has to be progress in the short-term to clear the ground for the institutions to be put in place early in the New Year.
Sinn Fein said it was time for both prime ministers to grasp the momentum created by the IRA ending its armed campaign and decommissioning its weapons during 2005.
PA