Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain was accused of operating double standards last night as he moved to restore the parliamentary allowances of Sinn Féin MPs.
The package of allowances, worth an estimated £500,000, was suspended on a Commons vote last year following the Northern Bank robbery.
However Mr Hain yesterday confirmed he would ask MPs to reverse that decision following a debate next month on a government motion to reinstate the allowances, with payments back-dated to November 1st.
In a brief statement, Mr Hain said: "The government is of the view that the major advances by the IRA since its statement of July 28th, 2005, including decommissioning and Sinn Féin's commitment to the political process, mean the time is right to reinstate the allowances to encourage further political engagement at Westminster."
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said Mr Hain's decision was "highly premature", coming in advance of the imminent report on IRA and other paramilitary activity by the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC).
"We have evidence from the police that the IRA is still engaged in criminal activity," said Mr Donaldson. His colleague, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson, said in the Commons that the move would "cause outrage" in Northern Ireland.
For the Conservatives, shadow Northern Ireland Secretary David Lidington pointed out that the Government of Wales Bill, currently before parliament, disqualified members of the Welsh Assembly from claiming salaries and allowances until they had taken their seats, and forced any member not taking his or her seat within two months to vacate it.
Noting that Mr Hain was Secretary of State for both Wales and Northern Ireland, Mr Lidington said "the double standards" spoke volumes.