Dail Report: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has warned there should be no ambiguity in the IRA's response to Gerry Adams's call on the organisation to stand down.
He also said that any change in the system of appointing ministers in a power-sharing executive in the North would be an "unwelcome development".
Mr Ahern said that recent comments made by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell must be viewed in the context of the information that, as of last weekend, there continued to be training, recruiting and, more worrying, though perhaps not directly related, a cross-over, to say the least, into criminal activities.
"The criminal activity is carried out by people who have been involved in the IRA, but I will not get into an argument about whether they are still inside the net. It is not always easy to know who is in or who is out, and I can understand that may also be the case for the republican movement," said Mr Ahern.
He added that, while he did not have the full facts, he was aware of a serious drug case overnight involving people with a past record of IRA involvement.
Replying to Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, Mr Ahern said no directive had been issued to his party to assist the SDLP in the Westminster election.
Mr Ahern said: "I am not in the business of over or under-analysing Gerry Adams's remarks, but like most other people in the country and elsewhere who are committed to democratic and peaceful politics, I want to know what the IRA will say.
"I am not demanding that it be said tomorrow or the next day because that is unrealistic - we will wait for the day - but we cannot fudge any of these issues. Ambiguity will not work. That has been brought to the fore in recent months."
Mr Ahern said Mr Adams had made a statement with significant potential. His preparedness to lead the republican movement in a different way without the IRA in its existing form, and to deal with criminality and other issues, must be welcomed.
He was not trying to diminish Mr Adams's comments, but for many years there had been false dawns and dashed hopes.
"The crisis of trust and confidence is profound and will not be easily repaired," he added. "Only a complete transformation of the situation will generate the energy needed to move beyond the current stalemate."
Dublin North Central Independent TD Finian McGrath said it was significant that Mr Adams had stated the way forward was by building political support for republican and democratic objectives across Ireland and by winning support for those goals internationally. "Gloating or seeking victory in the peace process will not get us anywhere," Mr McGrath added.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said he shared Mr Ahern's view that the d'Hondt system for the appointment of ministers in the Northern executive was an essential part of the Belfast Agreement. He understood that when the DUP published its election manifesto today it would turn away from the system.
Mr Ahern said he did not want to make a categoric comment on a manifesto which he had not seen. However, the system was a core element of the Belfast Agreement under which a powersharing executive was assured.
"Without going over the issue, it is an unwelcome development because it cannot be made work," he added. "Perhaps when I negotiated the agreement, I did not absolutely understand how it would work but having been through it to get the executive up and running, I became an expert on it and without it we could not have a power-sharing executive. There is no other mechanism."
