The IRA has put a "varied and substantial quantity of ammunition, arms and explosive material beyond use", the decommissioning body headed by Gen John de Chastelain reported yesterday. It is the second act of weapons decommissioning by the IRA in five months.
In a letter addressed to the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, and the Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, Gen de Chastelain confirmed the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning had witnessed the event and prepared a detailed inventory of the weapons involved to be given to the two governments "when our task is completed". There is no evidence to suggest this completion is imminent.
The statement, just three paragraphs, said the confidentiality promised to the IRA would be maintained and added that further talks would take place with both republican and loyalist groups.
Sinn Féin and the IRA, in separate statements, said the move was designed to advance the peace process. It was greeted by the two governments and by pro-agreement politicians in the North. However, it was dismissed as a stunt by anti-agreement members of Mr David Trimble's Ulster Unionists and by the DUP.
Mr Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin president, said the IRA's move was taken unilaterally and it highlighted the failure to implement all aspects of the agreement by others, notably the British government. He said it would be welcomed by "all people of good will" and would increase the onus on Britain to deliver on "outstanding issues". These included policing, demilitarisation, human rights, equality and justice.
His comments echoed those in the IRA's statement.
Signed by P. O'Neill in the usual manner, it said: "This initiative is unilateral at a time when there are those who are not fulfilling their obligations." It went on: "The securing of a democratic peace settlement is not solely a task for Irish republicans and we are mindful of the primary obligation of the British government and of the unionist leadership."
Dr Reid welcomed the announcement and especially the reference to "varied and substantial" quantities of arms.
"Every aspect of the agreement has to move forward and every aspect takes time," he added.
He said there were unionist critics who would never accept decommissioning was taking place because they always insisted it could never happen.
Mr Trimble also welcomed the announcement, emphasising that this was the second act of decommissioning which his opponents said would never happen. The greater transparency by the IRA in relation to the scale of the decommissioning act would aid everyone's cause.
Other Ulster Unionists were cautious, while others in the anti-agreement lobby and the DUP dismissed the act as an empty gesture.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the move was an important step.
The statements from the decommissioning body and the IRA were widely anticipated. The former PSNI chief constable said last month he had been informed that a move on weapons by the IRA was imminent. Mr Adams dismissed Sir Ronnie Flanagan's remarks at the time as unhelpful and mischievous.
The move comes at a sensitive time for republicans with the Easter commemorations just passed and the furore continuing over responsibility for the break-in at Special Branch offices in Castlereagh police station in east Belfast on St Patrick's night.
Initially thought to be an inside job by rogue security force elements, the police investigation has swung in the direction of IRA involvement.
Sinn Féin has repeatedly and angrily denied republican involvement and said the arrest and question tactics employed by the PSNI against senior republicans was an attempt to scapegoat and smear them.
Asked yesterday by The Irish Times, Mr Adams said he had "no evidence - not a wink nor a nod - of republican involvement in the business at Castlereagh".
The BBC reported last night that an IRA leadership source had claimed there was no involvement by republicans in the theft of intelligence documents.