The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, has stated that his party recognises the Defence Forces as the only legitimate army in the State.
Mr Adams said, however, that the attack by the Attorney General and Progressive Democrats election candidate, Mr Michael McDowell, which prompted his statement, was out of order and should be withdrawn.
Mr McDowell told a PD selection convention last week that a party with loyalties to the IRA had no place in the Dáil.
In an RTÉ Radio interview yesterday, Mr Adams dismissed the remarks as an attempt to deflect attention from the PDs' poor performance in other key issues affecting the electorate.
"It is totally out of order for him to have made the remarks that he made. He is the main advisor to the Government. He is the law officer and for him to make these remarks was wrong and he should withdraw them," said Mr Adams.
"Sinn Féin is an independent political party. We are not the IRA. People who vote for us, vote for us as they do the other parties - on the basis of our manifesto.
"We are very, very clear in terms of our recognition and acceptance and support for the Garda Síochána as the only legitimate policing service in the State and also in terms of the legitimacy of the defence forces as the only legitimate force."
He said he regarded the British Army in the North as an "occupation force".
Mr Adams rejected the argument that other parties had a legitimate interest in discussing claims of Sinn Féin links with the IRA.
"Maybe they want to discuss this issue. Maybe they don't want to discuss their record on housing and their record on health. Maybe they don't want to discuss how the boom years have been squandered.
"Maybe they don't want to discuss it because they would then have to put up a defence and they would then have to tell the populace why they should vote for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the PDs and the Labour Party. At the moment, their whole oneness is about telling people why they should not vote for Sinn Féin."
Mr Adams, who confirmed he would not stand in the election himself, highlighted the fact that Mr McDowell was not an elected representative, had lost his seat in the last election and was, according to a recent opinion poll, rated behind the Sinn Féin candidate in his chosen constituency.
He questioned why Sinn Féin's record on the peace process was "okay for David Trimble but not okay for Mr McDowell and company". Mr Adams also pointed to an apparent contradiction in the Government expecting Sinn Féin to join the north's Police Board while deeming the party unsuitable for coalition.
"The Minister of Justice was pointing out that we could not be part of any incoming government because of security matters and yet they want us to join the policing board which is precisely about security matters. "Let's be straight about what all this is about. It's not that they're afraid of Gerry Adams or Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin or Martin Ferris or any of our people who are standing in this election. They are afraid of the populace. They are afraid of the electorate."