The Taoiseach Mr Ahern said today that while there was disappointment that movement had not yet been made to progress the peace process he still believed it was possible.
He told the Dáil this afternoon: "While there is undoubtedly disappointment that it has not yet proved possible to see the movement that we had hoped for last week, I believe that we still have an opportunity to bring our work to finality.
Mr Ahern stressed that acts of completion must see an end to all paramilitarism and the putting beyond use of weapons. He said he looked forward to seeing Sinn Féin taking its place on the Policing Board "sooner rather than later". He added that there was great potential for progress on the goal of an early return to normal security arrangements in Northern Ireland.
"We wish to see this goal achieved," he told the Dáil. "We believe it can be achieved in the context of the Governments' joint proposals. "We want to see a Northern Ireland in which people are free to go about their daily lives in an environment of normality and safety."
Mr Ahern welcomed US President George Bush's continuing interest in the challenges facing the peace process and praised the work of his special envoy on Northern Ireland, Richard Haass. He added: "The time devoted by Prime Minister Blair to these issues in the fraught current circumstances bear witness to the personal and real commitment to partnership, which has been demonstrated by the British Government."
Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the IRA had taken an "unprecedented initiative" and the two governments and all parties should respond. He urged the publication of the governments' joint declaration.
He said: "In their statement to the governments they (the IRA) set out their attitude on the current disposition of the IRA and the status of their cessation, their future intentions, their attitude to a re-engagement with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning and engagement in a process of putting arms beyond use and a third act of putting arms beyond use to be verified under the agreed scheme.
"The IRA said they shared concepts and draft elements on these matters with others and, following an internal consultation, closed on a statement which was passed on to the two governments. "I believe this was indeed an unprecedented engagement by the IRA. It deserves to be recognised as such. All parties and both governments should respond positively."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said he understood from its public statement that the IRA would restore - or may already have restored - its relationship with the De Chastelain Commission. He said: "I understand too that we can shortly expect a major act of decommissioning, presumably as part of a process leading to the elimination of all weapons and material."
Mr Rabbitte said that if everything was right in the next couple of days the Ulster Unionists would be asked to accept that its war was over. "I hope they will find it in their hearts to do so," he added. "Stable government in Northern Ireland over the next five years will require courage and imagination on both sides."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the future of Northern Ireland and the peace process was hanging in the balance. "After five years the opportunity of achieving the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement is within our grasp," he said. "The time for acts of completion has arrived. "If this objective is to be achieved, then further efforts must be made by everybody involved